March 4, 2026, 11:09 a.m. ET
A female hiker in need of a rescue after being attacked by fire ants was airlifted to a hospital after suffering an allergic reaction Tuesday morning on the Lower Tangerine Falls trail in Santa Barbara, California.
Upon receiving a call about an injured hiker around 10:15, Montecito Fire responded to the West Fork of the Cold Springs Trail.
“The female patient suffered an allergic reaction after coming into contact with fire ants,” Montecito Fire’s post reported.
“Firefighters and Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue team members began hiking up the patient’s location on the Lower Tangerine Falls trail. Santa Barbara County Air Support Unit Copter 308 located the hiker and lowered a rescuer to hoist her out.”
The unidentified woman was flown to a nearby hospital for treatment. Her condition was not known.
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Fire ants are an aggressive insect that will sting and cause a very painful reaction, according to the National Library of Medicine. They will swarm and sting any living human or animal in which they come in contact, and just one ant can deliver multiple stings.
“The prognosis is very good for patients presenting with ant bites as most bites are managed conservatively not requiring extensive care,” the NLM stated. “Patients who seek medical care demonstrate serious systemic allergic reactions which occur in about 2% of fire ant stings. One study reported 83 deaths out of 29,300 patients. Infants and the elderly were the most at risk.”
Tangerine Falls, said to be 100-feet tall, is located in the Los Padres National Forest in Santa Barbara and is accessed by a challenging, 2.5-mile roundtrip hike, according to The Unremarkable Climber.
The hike in has an elevation gain of about 900 feet. The unmaintained trail has multiple signs along the trail that warn of the dangers, such as slippery rocks when wading through a creek, having to avoid poison oak as you bushwhack 1,500-feet upstream, and climbing through fallen trees.
Now, fire ants can be added to the mix of danger.