An unidentified hang glider recently had to be rescued by Cal Fire after crashing in rugged terrain on the flank of Hang Glider Hill in Cayucos.
According to Cal Fire/SLO County Fire Public Information Officer, Capt. Adam Orozco, the fire department got a 9-1-1 call at about 12:21 p.m. Sunday, July 19 of a crash landing on the hillside.
“Cal Fire SLO responded along with H70 [a Highway Patrol helicopter] to rescue the patient who sustained moderate injuries,” Capt. Orozco said. “H70 hoisted the patient off the hill and the patient was transported to a local hospital.”
Russel Taylor, who lives below the popular hill where hang gliding enthusiasts have been launching for many years, soaring over the coastline and landing on the bluff above Dog Beach, said it wasn’t a great day for hang gliding, as there wasn’t a breeze, though it was good weather for a helicopter rescue.
He said the hill is problematic. There is a lot of illegal permanent camping and campfires on the hill, and parties that leave a lot of trash about. In winter, vehicles get stuck in mud and abandoned, and have to be towed out, and there’s even been a rollover accident where someone died.
“Hang Glider Hill is sort of the Wild West,” Taylor told Estero Bay News. “A lot of them crash.”
He added that neighbors keep an eye on the goings on and have reported many times to the County. The local citizens advisory council “has hang-glider-hill as a permanent agenda item. The Cayucos Conservancy repeatedly posts ‘No Trespassing’ signs up there, which are routinely removed.”
