(LEX 18) — High winds led to a number of injuries from falling branches and trees across Kentucky. Search and rescue volunteers said as the spring hiking season ramps up, people need to stay extra vigilant.
In the Red River Gorge, it's easy to lose yourself in the beauty of the place. While you're watching your step on the trails, though, it's just as important to look up.
"Spending a lot of time in the woods, I have seen trees fall. I have seen limbs fall. I've had close calls myself on adventures out in the woods," said Drew Stevens.
Stevens is a volunteer for the Wolfe County Search and Rescue Team. He knows just how quickly things can take a turn, especially in high winds like those that blew through the area on Saturday.
According to Powell County Search and Rescu,e a man was hiking the Whittleton Branch Trail near Natural Bridge when a falling branch hit him on the head and knocked him unconscious. Search and rescue and EMS workers got to him and used a chainsaw to get him out from under the branch and got him treated for head injuries.
In Letcher County, volunteer firefighter Captain Ricky Simmons was driving a fire truck to a crash when a falling tree smashed through the windshield. Simmons had a concussion and head injuries, but the Colson Fire Department said he would recover.
In Louisville, a woman was pinned to her couch when a tree crashed down through her home Friday night. She escaped with a leg injury. If you have to go anywhere around weakened trees, be sure to keep an extra eye on them.
"Anytime you have these big wind events, we expect trees to fall. That's just a part of nature, right. Especially when you get these large windstorms like we've had this spring, you're going to see a lot of trees falling across trails, making trail navigation a little bit more difficult. Also, that can pose a hazard for folks while they're on their trip," Stevens said.
In the Red River Gorge, Stevens said the Forest Service tries to clear out hazardous trees, but with so much wilderness, there's only so much they can do.
"There's miles and miles of trail. There's over 60 miles of official trail in the Red River Gorge. There's over 200 miles of unofficial trail. It is impossible to remove every single hazard in the woods. What you can do is either plan ahead and avoid times of high risk and also avoid dwelling underneath those hazardous trees," Stevens said.
