![\"Ventura](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/h1b714fnw6icauut.jpg\")
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VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. – A 46-year-old Moorpark<\/a> woman has died following a rattlesnake bite at Wildwood Regional Park in Ventura County<\/a>, making it the second reported death in the region amid an unusually early snake season in Southern California<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Experts warn that a recent heat spike<\/a> is driving venomous reptiles out of dormancy weeks ahead of schedule, leading to a surge in encounters across the region.<\/p>\n What we know:<\/p>\n The most recent fatal encounter happened on March 14 around 11:30 a.m. in a remote area of Wildwood Regional Park, located in the western Simi Hills and Conejo Valley.<\/p>\n According to local authorities, the victim, identified by the Ventura County Medical Examiner as Gabriela Bautista, was bitten by a rattlesnake while hiking in the area.\u00a0<\/p>\n PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Rattlesnake encounters increase as warmer weather brings more snakes to surface<\/a><\/p>\n Bautista was airlifted by helicopter to a nearby hospital for treatment. She died five days later on March 19 from rattlesnake venom toxicity, officials said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dig deeper:<\/p>\n Bautista’s death follows a pattern of increasing encounters.<\/p>\n A teenage girl was recently bitten near the Wendy Drive trailhead in Newbury Park, and a 25-year-old man in Orange County <\/a>died in early March after being bitten in February.<\/p>\n PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 25-year-old OC man dies after rattlesnake bite<\/a><\/p>\n According to the Ventura County Fire Department, authorities have already had four bite reports since March 14.<\/p>\n In response, San Bernardino National Forest rangers are urging caution and reminding the public that “as temperatures rise, rattlesnakes become more active.”<\/p>\n What you can do:<\/p>\n To stay safe on the trails, officials advise hikers to:<\/p>\n Stick to clear paths: Avoid walking through tall grass, heavy brush, or rocky crevices where snakes may be resting.Keep distance: Rattlesnakes can strike at a distance of more than five feet; if you see one, give it plenty of space.In case of a bite: Call 911 immediately. Keep the victim still and ensure the affected limb remains lower than heart level.Avoid “folk” remedies: Do not use tourniquets, do not cut the wound, and do not attempt to suck out the venom or apply ice. <\/p>\n The Source: This report is based on official death records from the Ventura County Medical Examiner and on-scene response details provided by the Ventura County Fire Department. Supplemental data regarding regional bite trends and safety protocols was gathered from statements by the U.S. Forest Service.<\/p>\n Ventura County<\/a>Moorpark<\/a>Irvine<\/a>California<\/a>Wild Nature<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. – A 46-year-old Moorpark woman has died following a rattlesnake bite at Wildwood Regional Park…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":237891,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1184,7,9,8,2462,38584,100,611,645,1181,1226,16359],"class_list":["post-237890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-irvine","tag-moorpark","tag-news","tag-orange-county","tag-science","tag-us","tag-ventura-county","tag-wild-nature"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237890\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Rattlesnake](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1hnkcc3k3fgnh4nv.jpg\")
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