First responders hike 2.5 miles to rescue man with broken leg near Rocks of Sharon

Firefighters and medics hiked 2½ miles to rescue a 26-year-old man who is believed to have broken his lower leg Saturday afternoon southeast of Spokane.

Spokane County Fire District 8 Chief Lonnie Rash said firefighters and an American Medical Response ambulance were called at 2 p.m. to the Stevens Creek Trail near the Rocks of Sharon for a man who sustained a lower-leg injury.

Rash said he believed the man broke his left tibia and fibula.

A District 8 fire engine company and AMR paramedics hiked 2½ miles on the trail, stabilized the man’s injuries and transported him to the ambulance using a utility task vehicle, according to Rash and District 8’s Twitter page.

Rash said the man was likely climbing the rock, since first responders found him at the base of it.

He said firefighters respond about twice a year to the popular trailhead to treat people who fall or are otherwise injured.