Officials in a California county are urging residents to exercise extra caution after seven people have been bitten by rattlesnakes in the area this year.
According to a Ventura County Fire Department Facebook post, the latest rattlesnake incident occurred Thursday, April 30, on the Long Canyon Trail in Simi Valley, California, about 34 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
In a statement sent to KABC-TV, VCFD’s Andrew Dowd said a woman reported a rattlesnake bite on her ankle and was subsequently airlifted to an area hospital in stable condition.
Rattle Snake Coiled and ready to strike. The snake is on a gravel path in a Nature Preserve in Southern California.
The fire department said this is the seventh rattlesnake bite in Ventura County this year, with all of them happening since mid-March.
The rattlesnake bite on the Long Canyon Trail is just the latest incident in California this year. As of May 4, there have already been three rattlesnake fatalities in the state. Normally, California averages zero or one fatal rattlesnake bite per year, meaning deaths are very rare despite roughly 500 to 800 incidents, according to Backpacker Magazine and the San Luis Obispo Tribune.
A deadly year, so far
In April, a 78-year-old woman died after being bitten several times by a venomous snake in Northern California. The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to USA TODAY that the woman was walking in a rural area when she was bitten three times by the snake on April 8.
She was then transported to the hospital by family members and treated, according to the sheriff’s office. But her health deteriorated, and she was pronounced dead at the hospital on April 10.
More: California woman bitten three times by venomous snake dies
According to the Ventura County Star, part of the USA TODAY Network, the second rattlesnake fatality in 2026 was a 46-year-old woman who died from a bite on March 19. The Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office said the woman’s cause of death was determined to be rattlesnake venom toxicity.
The first rattlesnake fatality this year happened when a 25-year-old man died weeks after he was bitten by a rattlesnake while mountain biking with his father in Irvine, California, in February, according to a GoFundMe page and local television station KABC-TV.
What to do if bitten by a rattlesnake
If bitten by a rattlesnake, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and California Poison Control System recommend:
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Stay as calm as possible and do not panic.
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Move away from the snake to avoid any additional bites.
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Call the Poison Hotline at 1-800-222-1222 for further advice.
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Sit or lie down, and keep the bitten area lower than your heart.
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Do not use a tourniquet, attempt to suck out venom, or cut the bite site.
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Do not apply ice or heat to the bite site.
The CDC urges people to seek emergency medical care as soon as possible “to start antivenom (if needed) and stop irreversible damage.” Most people fully recover after receiving antivenom, according to wildlife and health officials.
Contributing: Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Southern California county reports seventh rattlesnake bite of 2026
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