Hundreds of Bees Sting Woman, 77

A 77-year-old woman was stung hundreds of times by a swarm of bees Sunday at a senior housing complex in Lake Forest and remains in guarded condition at a local hospital.

Doctors at Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills are awaiting lab test results to determine whether the woman, identified as Jackie Wright, was stung by Africanized honeybees--the so-called killer bees--or domestic bees, said hospital spokeswoman Elizabeth Bear.

Authorities said Wright was stung mostly in the face, neck and upper body.

“She’s in guarded condition and has suffered an allergic reaction. But we don’t know if she’s allergic to bee stings or if the large number of bees triggered it,” Bear said.

Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Paul Hunter said firefighters were summoned to Freedom Village, an apartment complex for seniors, at 9:15 a.m. and found hundreds of bees swarming over Wright in the driveway.

“Firefighters had to put on protective clothing, including bee veils, to reach the patient. They got her to the ambulance quickly,” Hunter said, adding that despite being stung so many times, the woman was conscious.

He said gardeners working at the complex tried to help the woman before firefighters arrived. None of the gardeners or paramedics were injured, Hunter said.

Madelyne Hanson, a resident at the complex, said she was in her third-floor apartment when she heard the victim’s screams.

“I heard her screaming all the way up here. I walked to the window and saw the bees swarming around her. One of them even flew into my apartment, but I swatted it. I’ve been here two years and this is the first time I can remember a problem with bees,” she said.

Bear said hospital officials were told that the bees were apparently disturbed when workers removed a side panel from a building at the complex.

Hanson and other residents said the building’s management called specialists to kill the bees and remove the nest. Signs posted on doors and notices on the building’s in-house cable TV channel warned residents not to venture outside, residents said.

Freedom Village administrators did not return calls for comment.

Bee colonies have been a problem in Lake Forest in recent months. Most of the problems, however, stem from illegal commercial colonies that usually include hundreds of hives.

Earlier this year, city officials discovered two illegal colonies owned by the same beekeeper. One was in a public park and the other on commercial property. Together, the two colonies contained up to 80,000 European honeybees, officials said. The owner was forced to move them.