A man fell over the waterfalls in Cliff Falls park on Saturday.
The 34-year-old was brought to safety by the Maple Ridge Fire Department ,with the assistance of Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue, in a high-angle rescue.
There are two branches of Kanaka Creek that converge in the area where the man fell in. There is a picnic area with waterfalls on both sides.
“We think he tried to climb down the falls that were on river right, slipped and fell and then somehow he either got washed over or he tried to walk over to the bank on river right, below a trail,” said Rick Laing, with Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue.
Laing estimates the man was in the water for an hour before a Metro Vancouver Parks employee heard his calls for help.
It was 5:30 p.m. when Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue were called to assist.
The falls are between 20 and 30 feet, says Laing, and that’s why he thinks that the man was only climbing down one side of the falls, because aside from being wet and cold, he didn’t seem to be injured.
“If he fell right from the top he would have done a lot of injury,” said Laing.
There are signs posted in the area saying dangerous and warn park users not to climb over the fence.
“He was over the fence,” said Laing, who added the man was extremely fortunate.
“With the amount of rain we had yesterday, there was an incredible volume of water through the falls and certainly if he had slipped the wrong way or whatever the ending could have been extremely tragic. He could have come away with more injuries or indeed been killed in there.”