Firefighters warn residents after 2 women bit by rattlesnakes

In the wake of two rattlesnake bites in Riverside County, local authorities reminded residents Thursday that as temperatures rise, so will the chances of encountering snakes in both rural and urban county areas.

Firefighter Tips: Stay Alert! Be Snake-Aware

The Riverside County Fire Department issued a list of snake safety tips on its various social media platforms, with measures that can be taken to avoid startling a snake, prompting an attack, or avoiding serious injury if a snake is encountered.

The tips include never going barefoot or wearing sandals while hiking through wild areas, avoiding tall grass and brush if possible, not grabbing objects out of lakes and rivers where rattlesnakes may be swimming, and never hiking alone.

Residents were also warned to even be wary of dead snakes, as they can still inject venom.

Two women sustained rattlesnake bites on Wednesday.

The first bite occurred at 9:47 a.m. on the Skyline Trail in Tahquitz Falls, several miles up the trail in the unincorporated county area west of Palm Springs. A woman who was bitten in a leg was airlifted out of the mountains by a sheriff’s department helicopter crew and taken to a hospital
with moderate injuries.

Later in the afternoon, a woman in Garner Valley, within the San Bernardino National Forest, was bitten by a rattlesnake on a dirt road. She was taken to a hospital with non life-threatening injuries, according to firefighters.

County fire officials did not have any further information Thursday on either woman’s condition.