[pct-l] Hiker killed by lightning Near Muir Trail Ranch

[james8313 at sti.net]

>From the Fresno Bee - 2 Aug 2021

Hiker struck, killed by lightning near John Muir Trail in Sierra
wilderness of Fresno County

A 37-year-old man was struck and killed by lightning near the John Muir
Trail in Fresno County on Friday afternoon.

The man was identified as Nicholas Torchia of Fresno. The Fresno County
Coroner’s Office determined Torchia died by electrocution 
caused by lightning.

Torchia was struck by lightning near Muir Trail Ranch, a remote, roadless
location east of Florence Lake, while he was on the Sallie 
Keyes Cutoff, a short segment between the John Muir Trail and Florence
Lake Trail.

The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office got a call about the incident around
2:20 p.m. Friday and Torchia’s body was recovered around 6 p.m. once a
California Highway Patrol helicopter was able to fly in during a break in
the storm, sheriff’s spokesman Tony Botti said.

“Torchia took cover by leaning against a tree,” Botti said, “a tree which
was then struck by a lightning bolt. Torchia fell to the ground. His fellow
hikers came to check on him and he told them he didn’t feel well and then
became unconscious. A doctor and a nurse who were on the trail tended to
Torchia by administering CPR for three hours. Despite their great efforts,
he ultimately passed away.”

Stacy Corless, a Mono County supervisor, was at Muir Trail Ranch then and
said her friend was the doctor who administered CPR. Corless hopes the
family takes some comfort knowing medical professionals were there with
him, in addition to a pastor who was hiking the John Muir Trail. No one
else was injured by the lightning strike.

Lt. Kathy Curtice, in charge of the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office Search
and Rescue team, said she’s unaware of anyone else ever being struck by
lightning in Fresno County, although afternoon thunderstorms are common in
the Sierra Nevada. Her career in search and rescue spans a couple of
decades.

In 2017, a family camping farther south, around Jennie Lake in Tulare
County, were struck by lightning and survived.

Muir Trail Ranch is a popular resupply spot in the John Muir Wilderness
for hikers on the John Muir Trail, which spans 211 miles from Yosemite
National Park to Mount Whitney. Much of it overlaps the longer Pacific
Crest Trail.

Officials on Monday weren’t sure where Torchia was heading or had been.
Corless said she heard from others who were fairly certain he had been
hiking the John Muir Trail.

Corless said the lightning storm Friday seemed to start suddenly with
little warning. She thinks Torchia was likely struck by one of the earliest
bolts.

“When it started, there was a huge flash of lightning and a huge crash of
thunder all at once that likely was the strike,” Corless said, “but I can’t
say for sure. ... It was a really severe storm. It rained for several hours
and bad weather continued until maybe 5:30 or so.”

Curtice said it was unsafe to fly in earlier because of the storms. She
said a search and rescue team was preparing to hike in to the location
around 8,000 feet in elevation when a break in the storm occurred and a CHP
helicopter was able to instead retrieve Torchia’s body.

While the chances of being struck by lightning are slim, those in a
thunderstorm are advised to drop down to lower ground, and stay away from
objects that can be conductors of electricity, Curtice said, including
metal and tall objects.

Curtice added that she doesn’t want those tips to be construed as any kind
of blame for the victim. It also appeared Torchia could have been hit by
the first lightning strike of the storm, she said.

“It’s just a tragedy,” Curtice said. “It was someone who was up recreating
in the wilderness. It’s a very unfortunate accident.”

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Yosemite James