Not bad comments from the BLM spokesman
BASE jumper hurt when parachute fails By DENNIS WEBB/The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
RIFLE — A man who jumped off a [removed] cliff Wednesday survived a fall of 800 to 1,000 feet with a partially deployed parachute.
The incident triggered a rescue effort involving some 40 to 50 people and three helicopters. The victim, who rescuers said showed no signs of critical injuries, had to be plucked off a steep slope by a rescuer dangling from a line below a hovering Colorado Army National Guard helicopter.
Authorities didn’t release the name of the man, who was BASE-jumping from a 2,000-foot cliff on Bureau of Land Management property in the [removed] area.
BASE-jumping involves leaping from buildings, antennas, spans and earth forms, and is popular at [removed].
Chad Harris, deputy chief of the Rifle Fire Protection District, said the man lives in the area and is around 30 years old. He is experienced in BASE jumping and was wearing a suit designed to maximize glide.
“He had a goal of getting a hundred BASE jumps in” this year, Harris said.
Authorities were contacted about the incident around 9:45 a.m. Rifle fire personnel first responded, and were joined by Garfield sheriff’s deputies, search and rescue crews from Garfield and Mesa counties and two National Guard helicopters.
The victim was conscious and alert, and complained chiefly of abdominal and back pain. He was transferred to a St. Anthony’s Hospital Flight for Life helicopter and flown to St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction.
Harris surmised that the parachute deployed enough to at least slow the man’s fall.
“Obviously it’s very lucky that he survived that,” Harris said.
Harris said the fire department has responded to a couple of BASE jumping accidents at [removed]. They require a lot of resources and can create challenges for smaller emergency organizations, he said.
“Some conversations may ensue now with the BLM and such just to be a little proactive with that. I’m fairly certain that it may not be the last incident,” he said.
BLM spokesman David Boyd said the BASE jumping is legal.
“There haven’t been any discussions about any restrictions on that activity yet. That’s something, if there’s concerns, we could consider,” he said.
However, he said the BLM generally doesn’t restrict activities that don’t cause resource damage or endanger others.
“People have got to take responsibility for their own safety and actions,” he said.
A ban in one place might just drive jumpers somewhere else, Boyd said.