A person with a leg injury made a basket rescue from the Elora Gorge necessary early Wednesday afternoon.
Jonathan Karn, deputy fire chief of CW Fire and Rescue, confirmed they got a call around 11:30 a.m. for a woman who injured herself in the Elora Gorge, close to the Victoria Park access area.
He said a woman there with family had slipped on a rock which resulted in an injury to her leg and ankle.
Although it wasn’t a full-blown rope rescue, Karn said she had to be carried in a basket stretcher up the set of stairs to Victoria Park.
“This certainly was not a case of this person being in an area that they shouldn’t have been,” Karn said.
“It was a slip and fall injury on some slippery rocks, so accidents do happen there’s no doubt about it. She just wasn’t able to walk back up the stairs on her own with the nature of the leg injury.”
Karn said although EMS took over after the rescue and doesn’t know what transpired from there, he imagines she will recover as she remained talkative the way up the stairs.
He said they do field a higher number of calls in the summer around the Elora Gorge either at Victoria Park or in the gorge park itself.
“We’re having a huge influx of visitors to our area and it’s something to do. The weather is warm, people are enjoying the river, they’re exploring,” Karn said. “Because of the sheer number of people, we’re seeing some more injuries – maybe more than usual.”
Karn stressed visitors should be aware of their surroundings and to dress appropriately, with proper footwear, and understand how quickly river conditions can change.
“If you do have to call 911, know where you are in the Gorge,” Karn said. “The Elora Gorge system is fairly long and knowing your location really helps emergency responders if they’re required to your location. We’ve spent a lot of time in the past looking for people who don’t know where they are.”
