First responders rescued three hikers that fell into the gorge on Avalanche Lake Trail in Glacier National Park on Sunday.

The National Park Service worked with Whitefish Fire Department to retrieve the hikers and transport them to Logan Health Medical Center in Kalispell. One patient was airlifted from the park while two were transported via ambulance. 

“The whole incident is really a great example of how fast the emergency response system can be taxed in the valley,” said Sal Baccaro, a firefighter and paramedic with Whitefish Fire Department. 

Baccaro and his partner, Dannie Nixon, responded to the July 6 call for mutual assistance from the National Park Service. Rescuers were helping one of the patients walk to the trailhead when the pair arrived. Baccaro and Nixon helped stabilize that patient while rescuers returned to Avalanche Creek to retrieve the third person, who was still in the gorge. 

“It’s a pretty unique situation that so many agencies were involved in this incident,” said Baccaro. “When we arrived, we were kind of running all over." 

Baccaro confirmed that all three patients were transported to Logan Health but declined to comment on the status of the victims due to patient confidentiality laws. 

Video of the incident posted to social media by an eyewitness shows one person sitting on a log above the raging waters of Avalanche Creek. The individual appears to have some bruising on their left arm, but no other injuries are immediately apparent. 

According to the Facebook post accompanying the video, the two other hikers “tumbled all the way to the bottom of the gorge, where they were recovered.” 

Swift water remains one of Glacier National Park’s deadliest features, claiming the lives of an estimated 36 people in the past 115 years. The gorge is an especially treacherous spot as the waters of Avalanche Creek sluice through slick 30-foot rock walls. Since the park’s opening in 1910, five people have died after falling into the gorge. Two of those fatalities were in 2023 and 2024. 

Warning signs are posted around the area, and some sections of the creek are cordoned off by wooden fencing.  

It is unknown how the hikers fell into the gorge.  

Glacier National Park did not respond to requests for comment by the Inter Lake's print deadline. 

Reporter Hailey Smalley may be reached at [email protected] or 758-4433.