Individual rescued after 100-foot fall off SF cliff on Memorial Day

The San Francisco Fire Department is warning visitors to the city to take precautions after an individual taking in a World War II memorial at Lands End fell nearly 100 feet from a cliff.

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Capt. Jack Ayers, the spokesperson for SFFD, said the first calls came in around 7 p.m. on Memorial Day.

The calls were “first reported as a child falling 70 to 100 feet down a cliff from a trail in the war memorial area,” Ayers told SFGATE. “Crews arrived on scene within less than five minutes from the Richmond District stations, Station 34 and Station 14, and they were able to interview witnesses and pinpoint a location where they discovered one subject down, not moving, below the cliff.”

Ayers said the individual was a young adult and said it was unclear how they fell from the cliffs. There are cables that block access to the cliffs’ edge from the memorial site close to Sutro Baths that overlooks the ocean.

Ayers said the SFFD is well-trained in cliff rescue and had conducted a training drill in the same area over the weekend. In addition to rescue crews, who rappelled down to the victim, CHP air support also responded to the scene.

“The CHP H30 helicopter from Napa was clearing another emergency and responded to our incident, where they picked up one of our helicopter rescue technicians at Crissy Field, and then flew less than four minutes to the scene, and were able to rescue the subject in less than 10 minutes by getting into the ambulance,” Ayers told SFGATE.

The rescued individual was taken to a local hospital with traumatic injuries. Their current condition has not been released.

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The individual fell near the USS San Francisco Memorial, a popular destination during Memorial Day. On Sunday, hundreds showed up as part of an observance to honor the sailors who died while serving during World War II, according to KNTV-TV.

Ayers said Monday’s rescue underlines how important it is for people to be alert and cautious when visiting city parks with cliffs or dangerous terrain.

“We have so many different wonderful locations for people to view the ocean or the nature or the cliffs or the trails, but our regulations and safety measures [are] established so that we can try to prevent people from becoming part of one of these rescue scenarios,” he said. “We encourage people to visit city and county San Francisco, and we welcome everyone who wants to come out and explore, but please explore with safety as your top priority.”