The “hiker down” call was received about 1:50 p.m. in the area of Thomas Road and the Ramona Trail, just west of Highway 74, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.

The agency said that several engine crews from the county, as well as U.S. Forest Service rangers and a medic unit from the Idyllwild Fire Protection District, were sent to the location.

The first responders ultimately found the young man, whose identity was not disclosed, a half-mile from a trailhead, unable to walk out under his own power due to possible dehydration and other factors. He had momentarily lost consciousness after collapsing, according to reports from the scene.

Firefighters were able to place the victim on an ATV or other vehicle and transport him to an ambulance waiting at the Lake Hemet Campground, roughly a mile away.

There was an initial call for a Mercy Air ambulance, but that was cancelled.

Shortly before 3 p.m., the victim was taken via the highway to Eisenhower Health in Rancho Mirage for treatment.

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CNS | Contributed

Controlled burns are slated to begin before the end of the month throughout the San Bernardino National Forest, including near Mountain Center and Idyllwild, where federal fighters will be igniting piles of dead vegetation and burning off excess foliage from the ground and air.

“The (U.S. Forest Service) plans to start prescribed fire operations on its three ranger districts this month, and (they) are scheduled to continue through early 2024,” according to a USFS statement. “The program considers wind, humidity, temperature and fuel types … when planning and implementing prescribed fires.”

The total number of acres targeted for the burn-offs could not be confirmed.

Roughly one-third of the 676,000-acre national preserve is in Riverside County, while the larger half runs through the San Gorgonio Pass and the mountain range to the north.

Slash pile burning, which as the name implies, involves torching piles of brush to clear space around fire stations, communications towers and other facilities, will be one of the principal activities. However, officials said a “helitorch,” or a helicopter outfitted with a gas pump that jettisons burning gelled petroleum like a flamethrower, will also be employed for larger burns.

Operations utilizing a helitorch occurred earlier this year during a prescribed burn that eliminated over-growth across four square miles around Thomas Mountain east of San Jacinto.

“There are a number of ways to reduce fuels, or combustible material, in forests, such as mechanical thinning, prescribed fire and pile burning,” the USFS stated. “Fire managers use prescribed fire to mimic the natural role of fire on the landscape and help maintain or restore ecosystems to a healthier condition and reduce wildfire risk.”

Burns are closely monitored and immediately suspended when there are signs of changing weather.

Officials advised motorists, as well as people on hiking and biking trails and in campgrounds, not to be alarmed by smoke and flames during the operations, which will be publicized in advance via roadside signage and electronic media, including the San Bernardino National Forest’s Twitter and Facebook pages:

— https://twitter.com/SanBernardinoNFwebsite;

— https://www.facebook.com/SanBernardinoNF/.

No road closures have been announced yet in connection with the burns.

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