Action News investigates a deadly rock slide on Mount Lassen that killed a 9-year-old boy from Tehama County. The victim's parents are asking questions about why it took so long for help to arrive, and wondering, was the trail safe enough to be open. In part two of an Action News special report, the park service responds to those questions.
Jennifer Botell has changed nothing in her son Tommy's room since he died in a rock slide at Lassen Volcanic National Park in July. His Ranger Rick binoculars are there, the same binoculars he was wearing the day he was killed. The reminders of tommy are everywhere in the home, including two scouting honors awarded after his death. The family's Red Bluff home even looks out over the mountain peak where he was killed. Tommy's father Tom Botell said "we want safety up there for the next family that goes up there."
A rock retaining wall collapsed near the top of the 2.5 mile Lassen Peak Trail, killing Tommy, and seriously injuring his sister Katrina. The Botells have concerns about the emergency response. They wonder why it took three and a half hours for a helicopter to arrive to take Katrina to the hospital, and two and a half hours for the first rangers to reach them on foot.
Jennifer said "if they had medical training they didn't show it, they were out of breath, they said they'd never been up there before, they basically stood there, if they had training, they didn't use it."
Karen Haner from the Lassen Volcanic National Park says it was a quick response, given the remote location. "(The ranger) is certified in first aid, and CPR, he just did not have the paramedic level, not all the rangers are expected to be trained to that level."
The Botells say rangers should have been more aware of trail conditions. Action News talked by phone with an experienced hiker who says she alerted rangers to the deteriorating trail conditions five days "before" the deadly slide. Karen Couwenhoven said "I talked to the rangers, I told them it was in really bad shape and needed work, they said we'll send somebody up in the next couple of days, because nobody's been up in a while. I was absolutely appalled, it shouldn't have happened."
Park officials say they were aware of damage to the trail, caused by years of people cutting switchbacks near the top. They're raising 2-million-dollars for an improvement project to widen and stabilize the path. It was already planned "before" the deadly slide.
The Botells say that indicates the park "knew" there was a danger. Jennifer Botell said "That means they knew there was something wrong with that trail, they were already planning to renovate it. They should have closed it if they knew something was wrong with it."
Action News asked the National Park Service if the trail was it safe on that day? Spokeswoman Karen Haner said "we felt it was, but nowhere in a national park or in our everyday lives are we completely safe. Because there had never been an event like this happen on that trail, it was not foreseen."
Lassen Peak Trail remains closed until the investigation and repairs are completed. The National Parks Conservation Association recently rated Lassen as "fair" in its state of the parks report, scoring 71 out of 100 points. Kari Kiser of the National Parks Conservation Association said "the park service overall has an 8-billion dollar maintenance backlog, they're working hard with the money they have to maintain the park."
The Botells want the park service to rename the trail in Tommy's honor. In the meantime, his mother has a this message for parents. "We're not promised tomorrow with our kids, so take advantage of every moment you have with them, spend time with them, let them know you love them, because you might not have a tomorrow."
The park will use 400-thousand dollars in stimulus money to repair the rock slide, as soon as the snow clears next summer.
