Overview
- Late Saturday night on July 4, a group of six attempted to scale the Davenport bluff using an unauthorized rope that snapped and left three people stranded and three others falling to the beach.
- Three climbers fell an estimated 30 to 40 feet and were taken to hospital by ground ambulance, with one in critical condition and two suffering moderate injuries.
- Crews from CAL FIRE CZU, the Santa Cruz Fire Department, California State Parks, AMR and the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office coordinated the rescue using a ladder truck and a high-angle rope rescue system.
- Heavy coastal fog prevented helicopter use, so firefighters relied on ropes, harnesses and ground-based technical rescue techniques to hoist the stranded climbers to safety.
- Officials warned that coastal cliffs are unstable and dangerous, said the rope was unauthorized, and noted that holiday beach crowds and informal access routes have led to repeated cliff rescues in the area.