A woman was transported to a local hospital for injuries she sustained in a 20 foot fall from the top of the Billings Rimrocks Sunday morning near the Billings Logan International Airport, according to Billings Fire Battalion Chief Ed Regele.
Neighbors below the area of the fall on the 1400 block of Granite Avenue called 9-1-1 at 7:40 a.m. after hearing screams for help coming from the Rims above their home, Regele told Q2 over the phone.
Regele said the woman was out in the elements for several hours before her calls for help were heard. She was conscious and talking to first responders when she was transported to the hospital, Regele said.
Three firefighters and one police officer made their way to the rock ledge the woman fell to from the bottom of the Rimrocks. They found there was no safe way rescue her from the bottom.
Weather conditions worsened as the rescue went on, Regele said. First responders delt with high winds and blowing snow while they worked. Regele said the sandstone Rimrocks were very slippery to walk on, making for some of the worst conditions firefighters have had to work in while performing a Rims rescue.
The woman was raised to the top in a basket by firefighters about an hour after the initial 9-1-1 call.
The group of first responders that found the woman from the bottom had to be lifted to the top as well, because weather conditions made it unsafe for the group to proceed back the way they came, Regele said.
The first responders were all raised about an hour after the woman was brought to the top, Regele said.
