Seven people have been bitten by rattlesnakes in the area this year, and officials in one California county are urging residents to take extra caution.
According to a Facebook post from the Ventura County Fire Department, the latest rattlesnake incident occurred on Thursday, April 30, on the Long Canyon Trail in Simi Valley, California, about 34 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
A woman reported a rattlesnake bite on her ankle and was airlifted to a local hospital in stable condition, VCFD’s Andrew Dowd said in a statement to KABC-TV.
The rattlesnake coils up in a circle, ready to strike. The snake was found on a gravel road in a Southern California nature preserve.
The fire department said this is the seventh rattlesnake bite in Ventura County this year, with all incidents occurring 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 been three rattlesnake deaths in the state. Typically, California averages zero or one rattlesnake bites per year, meaning that while there are approximately 500 to 800 rattlesnake bites, fatalities are extremely rare, according to Backpacker Magazine and the San Luis Obispo Tribune.
It’s been a deadly year so far
In April, a 78-year-old woman in Northern California died after being bitten several times by venomous snakes. The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to USA Today that the woman was bitten three times by a snake while walking in a rural area on April 8.
She was later taken to a hospital by her family for treatment, according to the Sheriff’s Office. But her health deteriorated and she was pronounced dead at the hospital on April 10.
More: California woman dies after being bitten by venomous snake three times
The second rattlesnake death in 2026 was a 46-year-old woman who died after being bitten on March 19, according to the Ventura County Star-Telegram of USA TODAY Network. The Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office said the woman’s cause of death has been determined to be rattlesnake envenomation.
The first death from a rattlesnake this year occurred in February, when a 25-year-old man was bitten by a rattlesnake while mountain biking with his father in Irvine, California, and died weeks later, according to a GoFundMe page and local station KABC-TV.
What to do if bitten by a rattlesnake
If bitten by a rattlesnake, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the California Poison Control System recommend:
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Stay as calm as possible and don’t panic.
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Stay away from snakes to avoid being bitten again.
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Please call the Poison Hotline at 1-800-222-1222 for further advice.
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Sit or lie down so that the bite area is lower than your heart.
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Do not apply a tourniquet, try to suck out the venom, or cut the bite site.
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Do not apply ice or heat to the bite area.
The CDC urges people to seek emergency medical care as soon as possible “to initiate antivenom (if needed) and prevent irreversible damage.” Most people make a full recovery after receiving antivenom, according to wildlife and health officials.
Contributed by Thao Nguyen, USA Today.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a popular news reporter for USA Today. Contact him at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow him at @fern_cerv_.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Southern California county reports seventh rattlesnake bite in 2026
