Two Hikers Rescued Above Millard Canyon

A hiker couple was evacuated from Millard Canyon Saturday after they climbed up a steep wash area, according to Rich Deleon of the . 

The hikers were uninjured, but had climbed into an area where they could not safely climb back down, Deleon said. 

The County Fire Department helicopter airlifted them out of the area to safety, Deleon said.  Using the chopper was the only logical course for the team, he added.

"To get to them on foot would have literally taken hours," he said.

The Millard Canyon area is still technically closed because of burning and floods resulting from the 2009 Station Fire, so rescues in the area have been somewhat infrequent, according to Deleon.

When there have been rescues, it is typically because somebody goes off trail, he said.  The couple in this case told Deleon they went up the cliff to get a better view of the area.

When asked how they had managed to get so far up in such steep terrain, the couple told him "stupidity and determination," Deleon said.

Previous coverage of rescues above Altadena.