{"id":15955,"date":"2026-07-27T22:54:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T22:54:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=15955"},"modified":"2026-07-27T22:54:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T22:54:18","slug":"inside-a-harrowing-midnight-salmon-river-rescue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=15955","title":{"rendered":"Inside a Harrowing Midnight Salmon River Rescue"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"justify-start\">\n<nav class=\"align-left col-span-full mb-base\" data-pom-e2e-test-id=\"breadcrumbs\"\/>\n<p>When a falling tree crushed a camper\u2019s tent on a remote multi-day backcountry rafting trip on Idaho\u2019s Salmon River, search and rescue specialists faced a race against time, darkness, and smoke.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/p>\n<p class=\"fp-leadCaption py-tight text-left font-utility text-utility3-size leading-utility3-line-height text-secondary\">Dispatchers received a call just before midnight, and the rescue crew fly from Montana to nearby Idaho, arriving at the campsite around 2:30 A.M. <!-- --> (Photo: Two Bear Air)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-body\">\n<p>Published July 27, 2026 04:05PM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Just after midnight on July 18, a 100-foot-tall tree fell onto a campsite along Idaho\u2019s Salmon River, crushing a camper in his tent. A helicopter crew battled dense smoke and nighttime conditions, successfully rescuing and transporting the rafter in a race against time.<\/p>\n<p>Officials have not released the rafter\u2019s name, age, or\u00a0condition. In an interview with <em>Outside<\/em>, Rob Cherot, a helicopter pilot with the responding agency, Two Bear Air, said the rafter\u00a0suffered multiple fractures and was significantly injured.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was a humongous tree. You couldn\u2019t wrap your arms around it\u2014it had to be a 100-foot-tall tree,\u201d Cherot told <em>Outside<\/em>. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t really windy; it just tipped over out of the blue.\u201d Cherot said he\u2019s seen trees fall on firefighters battling wildland fires, but one to fall seemingly randomly on a person camping is, what he called, \u201ca freak accident.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"fp-remove\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border:none;overflow:hidden\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/video.php?height=314&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Freel%2F1594278782207837%2F&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=560&amp;t=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"314\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The odds of being killed by a fallen tree are slim, but not zero. In 2024, <em>Outside<\/em> detailed the story of Finn Bastian, a 28-year-old from Germany who was struck by a tree while hiking along the Pacific Crest Trail. Bastian died of his injuries. Two weeks before his accident, another tree struck and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2019\/08\/14\/lafayette-woman-killed-falling-tree-camping\/\">killed Beth Skelley<\/a>, 56, as she slept in her tent on the Colorado Trail. Falling timber killed a hiker on the Appalachian Trail in <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.heraldmailmedia.com\/story\/news\/local\/2015\/03\/16\/hiker-killed-on-appalachian-trail-identified\/45171329\/\">2015<\/a> and again in <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.winchesterstar.com\/news\/hiker-killed-on-appalachian-trail-by-falling-tree-branch-identified\/article_b4a2a646-8bae-5282-a62b-336a3a9df49d.html\">2018<\/a>. Two kids died in Yosemite Valley, California, when a limb from an oak tree fell onto their tent, also in 2015.<\/p>\n<p>Cherot, 54, is based in Northwestern Montana and has been flying for Two Bear Air for eight years. He\u2019s also a paramedic who flies for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks on his days off. According to Cherot, a group of about 20 rafters was camping roughly 30 miles upstream from the remote <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/mackaybarranch.com\/\">Mackay Bar Ranch<\/a>. As the victim slept, a tree unexpectedly fell on his tent, trapping and injuring the camper sleeping inside.<\/p>\n<p>Dispatchers received a call just before midnight, and the rescue crew flew from Montana to nearby Idaho, arriving at the campsite around 2:30 A.M.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey were up there a good long way, so it\u2019s super dark in there, and there\u2019s some forest fires nearby. It was very smoky, and the visibility was horrible,\u201d Cherot said.<\/p>\n<p>By the time Cherot and his crew arrived at the camp, the group had already lifted the tree off of their fellow camper. The man suffered multiple fractures, Cherot added. The <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.twobearairrescue.org\/\">Two Bear Air<\/a> helicopter crew then transferred the patient to a Life Flight crew from Lewiston, Idaho.<\/p>\n<p>The group\u2019s quick-thinking and backcountry survival skills likely saved the man\u2019s life, Cherot said. First, they were able to provide dispatch with an exact location and description the man\u2019s injuries. According to Cherot, emergency satellite messages often pass through multiple dispatch centers or call centers before reaching the flight crew, and communication can quickly become murky. The initial dispatch details described just a group of rafters trapped under a log with breathing difficulties, which crews initially interpreted as a possible near-drowning.<\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"fp-remove\" style=\"border:none;overflow-y:hidden;background-color:white;min-width:320px;max-width:420px;width:100%;height:420px\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gaiagps.com\/public\/0q3rQYdoo7d9mIMCOxRN3Uk4\/?embed=True\" seamless=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe left Kalispell thinking we were going to go pick up somebody who had almost drowned. We had no idea they had successfully rafted and were hanging out in camp, going to bed, when the incident occurred,\u201d Cherot said. Using a satellite device to send an SOS and pinpoint exact GPS coordinates saved rescue crews critical time searching in the dark.<\/p>\n<p>The campers also helped guide the helicopter by forming \u201chuman circle\u201d on the ground and pointing their headlamps to mark where the pilot should land. Switching on the strobe light function further assisted the pilot in spotting their location with night vision goggles.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe strobe is huge because we were flying down the river and there are several other camps with lights near there. That was brilliant,\u201d Cherot said.<\/p>\n<p>In a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/reel\/1594278782207837\">Facebook post<\/a>, Two Bear Air said a rescue specialist assessed and provided initial stabilizing treatment before hoisting the victim and transporting them to the nearby Elk City Airport. Authorities turned the man over to Life Flight Network for continuing treatment and transport.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe wish him a speedy recovery,\u201d the rescue agency wrote.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><span hidden=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/outdoor-adventure\/exploration-survival\/salmon-river-tree-crush-rafter-rescue\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When a falling tree crushed a camper\u2019s tent on a remote multi-day backcountry rafting trip on Idaho\u2019s Salmon River, search and rescue specialists faced a race against time, darkness, and smoke. Dispatchers received a call just before midnight, and the rescue crew fly from Montana to nearby Idaho, arriving at the campsite around 2:30 A.M.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15956,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wild-living"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15955"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15955\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}