A hiker in Colorado’s Clear Canyon expected his walk to take no more than four hours. Nor did he count on paying a $5,000 rescue bill after he sprained his ankle and had to be helped off the side of a mountain.
David Seals, his brother and a friend were happily hiking when the incident occurred.
The bill for the rescue came from the Golden, Colo., Fire Department, the squad that arrived to the scene fastest.
“That is probably on the high end of what we charge for a rescue,” Fire Department spokeswoman Sabrina D’Agosta told The Associated Press. “But it’s because it was at 1 o’clock in the morning, it was raining so we had very dangerous conditions. And it’s a really, really steep canyon area, and it’s a very difficult rescue to bring someone down from there.”
The $5,000 pays for personnel and equipment, D’Agosta said.
The Fire Department had to run its heavy rescue truck and lighting truck during the entire rescue, which took 10 hours, she said.
Report by David Wilkening
