Rescued kite surfer used rocks to spell 'HELP' on Northern California beach
Firefighters rescued a stranded kite surfer in northern California after the adventurer pulled a trick right out of Hollywood.
The surfer used rocks to spell out "HELP" on Davenport Landing Beach, northwest of Santa Cruz, Cal Fire's San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit posted on Facebook about the Sunday rescue.
A private helicopter spotted the man and his message and called 911, the agency said.
Man was airlifted from beach
The man was in a physically good condition but needed to be airlifted to get off the beach.
"That was a different type of 911 call than we usually get," California Department of Forestry Fire Captain Skylar Merritt told the Los Angeles Times. "At the very least, the helicopter that spotted him made it much quicker, where he didn’t have to worry about hypothermia or dehydration."
Merritt told the paper that the rescued man was an experienced windsurfer but that conditions in the area became exceptionally challenging.
There were three fatal incidents in a 3-mile area that included Davenport Landing in 2021, prompting Cal Fire officials at the time to put a safety warning on social media.