BIGFORK — A sightseeing trip near Bigfork turned frightening last week when a car went over a cliff near the Camp Misery Trailhead.
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Bigfork Fire Department spokesman Allen Venitez says two people in a rental car likely lost control on a narrow gravel road in the area before falling off a steep embankment.
Bigfork Fire’s crew was able to perform a technical rope rescue with 350 feet of rope donated to them by the Friends of Bigfork Fire Department Foundation, and the rescue was completed in about two hours with only minor injuries to the victims.
Venitez urges anyone who may be traveling in areas like this one to use caution when driving on gravel roads.
“Montana has a lot of steep and narrow roads, and Jewel Basin is just one of many throughout the valley,” Venitez said. “It is a gravel road it is narrow the accident occurred on a day that the road was dry and visibility was clear but if you’re not familiar driving on gravel roads if you go to fast, if you don’t prepare for turns, if you get too close to the edge it doesn’t take a lot for the roads here in montana to cause problems.”
Venitez also says the two victims of this incident survived because both were wearing their seatbelts.
