Rescuers search for firefighter in Los Padres National Forest

Rescuers in the air and on horseback were continuing a search Monday evening for an Arcadia firefighter missing in rugged terrain in the Los Padres National Forest north of Fillmore.

Mike Herdman, 34, was hiking with a friend Friday near the Tar Creek trail when he went running after his dog and disappeared, according to authorities.

It took the friend two days to hike out of the area before the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department was alerted on Sunday night, Sgt. Eric Buschow said.

Buschow, speaking by cell phone from the search area, said that rescuers would continue scouring the wilderness until nightfall and resume operations after daybreak Tuesday if the missing firefighter was not found.

A team was overhead in a helicopter while 20 sheriff’s department and search-and-rescue squad members were hiking on the ground. They are being assisted by 11 rescuers on horseback, Buschow said.

A command post had been set up near the trail about 10 miles north of Fillmore. Herdman is a firefighter and paramedic with the Arcadia Fire Department, according to the city’s website.

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