Montrose Search and Rescue – Abandoned Mine Traps Both Explorer and Rescuer

The abandoned mines that hThe abandoned mines that honeycomb our San Gabriel Mountains attract adventurers like moths to a flame. These ancient holes in the ground, often held up by rotting timbers over a century old, can be death traps for those with inadequate equipment and training. The Black Jack Mine near Acton was just such a place.

Appearing as little more than a small hole in the side of a hill, this mine opened up to several large caverns. At the back of the tunnel, a 6’ x 6’ vertical shaft dropped 800 feet straight down, with several horizontal tunnels branching off at various levels. A father and son had explored the mine several times and returned in April 1998 to explore the vertical shaft. They tied off a rope to a timber at the top of the shaft and descended 400 feet. Climbing back out, they made the mistake of trying to use the ancient wooden ladder affixed to the shaft’s side. The lighter son made it to the top, but the old ladder crumbled under the father’s weight at the 150’ level and he fell 50 feet, breaking the safety rope and landing on a ledge. Injured and exhausted, he couldn’t climb out, so his son left him and went for help.

Several Los Angeles County fire units responded and began prepping the area for a complicated rescue. Lights were set up as it was getting dark, and ventilation units started pumping fresh air into the mine. One of the biggest threats in these old mines are pockets of deadly gases, so the firefighters are careful to monitor air quality. The Montrose Search and Rescue team, which specializes in mine rescues, arrived and two of their members were selected to join the team that would actually try to reach the victim. The MSR and the fire units began to build a frame on which to anchor a rope, while another team lowered a remote camera down to the victim, who couldn’t be seen from the opening. On the way down the camera showed that there were many rotting horizontal timbers bracing the shaft. The camera reached the trapped explorer, who was conscious and responsive, 200 feet down.

One of the MSR team was harnessed up and began the long descent down the shaft, being lowered by hand. On the way down he had to thread carefully in and out of the fragile horizontal timbers so as not to knock them loose to fall on the trapped man below. He reached the victim, strapped him into a rescue litter, and the haul team above pulled him to the surface. He was transported to a hospital.

During this rescue, the main rope attached to the MSR rescuer contacted one of the rotten horizontal bracing timbers just 50 feet above his head, and shifted it out of place. If it fell, it would strike him on its way to the bottom of the shaft several hundred feet below, maybe taking him with it.

There were two options. They could lower another man to the dangling timber and tie it off, or they could drop another line away from the timber and the MSR man could shift his tether to that rope. They chose the latter option.

The MSR man carefully moved to the new line on the opposite side of the shaft and tied off to it. He remained tied to his original rope as a backup in case the timber did fall and hit him. Very slowly the haul team began to pull him up, while another team tried to keep both lines from touching the barely intact beam. He managed to squeeze by the old timber without touching it and made it to the surface, a very lucky (and tired) rescuer. The MSR team and fire department personnel secured their equipment, and public works was called in to permanently seal the entrance to the treacherous mine.

This operation shows the danger the MSR faces in these old mines. Members are proud to be one of the few SAR teams in California to be trained in underground rescue.

  mike lawler