18-year-old Windsor man falls off cliff on Sonoma Coast

Hours after a boy fell off a bluff near Fort Ross State Historic Park, emergency personnel responded Sunday evening to another fall along the steep cliffs that line the Sonoma Coast.

An 18-year-old Windsor man hit his head against rocks after falling off the cliff by Schoolhouse Beach but he escaped serious injuries, Bodega Bay Fire Protection District Capt. Justin Fox said.

The man, who was not identified, was climbing the steep ?embankment at about 6 p.m. Sunday when he began to slide, Fox said. It’s estimated he fell ?10 to 20 feet.

“It was almost vertical,” State Parks Supervising Ranger Jeremy Stinson said about the embankment.

The man was taken by ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment.

As the warm weather draws more people to the coast, Stinson urged visitors to stay on designated trails and away from the edge of cliffs. The cliffs are not suitable for rock climbing because they tend to crumble, he said.

“The coast here is very hazardous,” Stinson said.

On Sunday, a young boy from Rancho Cordova fell off jagged bluffs near Fort Ross after he wandered away from his picnicking family, Stinson said. Michael Borges, a fisherman from Santa Rosa, spotted the boy at the bottom of the bluff. The child was attempting to climb up the cliff when the fisherman saw him fall 20 feet, Stinson said.

“The fisherman who witnessed this ended up bringing him back up to the cliff (top),” Stinson said, adding that the boy may have fallen from the top of the cliff, ?60 feet above, before trying to climb back up.

Initial reports said the boy was 9. Stinson said Monday that the boy is believed to be 5.

Park rangers, along with Timber Cove Fire and the REACH and Henry 1 helicopters, responded to the 2 p.m. Sunday fall.

When rescuers arrived, the child was lying near a picnic area at the park. Henry 1 rendered medical assistance before the boy was airlifted to Children’s Hospital Oakland with head injuries.