Hiker suffers leg injury on mountain trail, requiring rescue

A hiker was injured today on a trail east of Pine Cove, requiring firefighters to come to her rescue and transport her down from a mountaintop.

The "hiker down" call was received at about 5:10 p.m. in the area of the Long Valley Ranger Station and the Round Valley Campground, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.

The agency said multiple engine crews were sent to the remote location, accessible only by unpaved roads and trails within the San Bernardino National Forest. As of 6 p.m., firefighters were making their way to the victim, identified only as a woman, who suffered an unspecified leg injury, according to officials.

Fire personnel indicated that they would arrange to have her moved to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway less than two miles to the northeast, possibly via a sheriff's helicopter, after which she would be taken down from 8,500 feet via the tram and placed in the care of an ambulance crew, then transported to a Coachella Valley hospital.  

The circumstances of the woman's injury were not immediately known.