(WKYT) – First responders rescued 36 people trapped on UTV trails Saturday night after rising water and fallen trees left them stranded in the Rock Lick area.
Crews responded around 10 p.m. Saturday to an Apple SOS call from a UTV rider in Jackson County.
“It said there were 17 people that were trapped in the Rock Lick Area and they needed help getting out,” said Jamie Strong, Jackson County emergency management director.
Strong and several agencies, including the Sand Gap Volunteer Fire Department, responded to the call. Fire crews walked miles to find the group, but discovered a second group of the same size along the way.
Both groups were trapped between fallen trees and high water.
“I think it was 32 adults, two juveniles and two toddler aged children,” Strong said.
One group was about five or six miles in. The other group was a couple miles behind them.
“Side by sides will go about anywhere but you know they ain’t gonna make it through high water,” Strong said.
The rescue took seven hours. Fire crews used rope, life jackets and their own UTVs to get the group to safety.
Strong said no one was hurt.
“I mean that’s a bus load of people and that’s kind of crazy,” Strong said.
Strong and the fire department are raising awareness about the dangers of rising water and staying weather aware.
“It’s just too dangerous and it puts not only your life but it could put these firemen at risk, too,” Strong said.
Strong said through Facebook he found out the side by sides have been recovered.