A Ventura County woman has become the second to die recently from a rattlesnake bite on a Southern California hiking trail during an unusually active period of snake attacks and unseasonably warm weather.
The Ventura County Fire Department has received four reports of rattlesnake bites since March 14, according to department spokesperson Andrew Dowd. In comparison, the county recorded nine total bites in 2025.
The department responded to a call for a bite on a hiking trail at Wildwood Park just before noon on March 14. Paramedics took lifesaving measures and airlifted the patient to a local hospital for treatment.
The woman who was bitten, later identified as 46-year-old Gabriela Bautista of Moorpark, died March 19 as a result of rattlesnake venom toxicity, the Ventura County medical examiner’s office told KTLA.
The following day, the county Fire Department rescued a teenage girl from the Wendy Trail in Newbury Park after she suffered a rattlesnake bite. Firefighters hiked up to access the bite victim and used a special wheeled stretcher to bring her down and transport her to a hospital in stable condition, Dowd said.
The two other recent rattlesnake bites in Ventura County were reported in Thousand Oaks and in Meiners Oaks, Dowd said.
On March 4, 25-year-old Julian Hernandez died in an Orange County hospital from a rattlesnake bite. Hernandez was wounded on Feb. 1 while hiking on Quail Hill in Irvine.
Rattlesnakes, which are typically most active in spring and summer, appear to have been drawn out earlier than usual this year as the Southland experiences the hottest March on record.
The U.S. Forest Service in San Bernardino issued a warning on Wednesday advising visitors of recent rattlesnake reports.
“As temperatures rise, rattlesnakes become more active in the forest,” the department stated. “Stay alert, watch where you step, and keep pets close.”
Greg Hardesty, a longtime trail runner who frequently runs in the foothills of Orange County, told The Times earlier this month that he came across a big rattlesnake on March 4, noting that this was much earlier in the year than he typically sees serpents on the trails.
“When I run on trails, I’m always looking at the ground because the trails are rocky and you can fall easily,” Hardesty said. “That’s when I saw a large snake that looked like a baseball bat at first.”
Dowd said that as an avid hiker he understands the draw of the hundreds of miles of beautiful trails in Ventura County but noted that there are some very important safety tips the department wants everyone to be aware of.
“The first is to wear hiking boots and long pants so that, should there be an encounter, that can hopefully provide some protection against a rattlesnake,” he said. “The second is to hike on clearly marked paths where you can see in front of you, so that you can avoid snakes.”
He strongly cautioned against wandering into areas of tall grass where rattlesnakes could be coiled up and noted that if hikers do encounter a snake the best thing to do is back away slowly and avoid contact.
Then there are the common safety tips hikers should abide by at all times of the year: Tell someone where you are going, carry plenty of water and ensure you have a charged phone or GPS device, he noted.
In the event of a rattlesnake bite, Dowd reminds hikers to remain calm, call 911 and try to limit movement.
“The general recommendation is to avoid the use of tourniquets, to avoid trying to extract the venom, to communicate with anyone nearby and know that responders are on the way,” he said.
Despite the two recent fatalities, death by rattlesnake bite remains rare in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 8,000 people annually are bitten by venomous snakes, with fewer than 10 deaths.
Times staff writer Cierra Morgan contributed to this report.
