Several people have been bitten by venomous rattlesnakes in Southern California over the past few weeks, with two fatalities reported.
“We have had a total of six reported rattlesnake bites since March 14th of this year,” Ventura County Fire Dept spokesperson Andrew Dowd told KNX News’ Emily Valdez. “As a comparison, in the totality of 2025, we had a total of nine reported rattlesnake bites in Orange County.”
The most recent attack happened on Sunday near the CSU Channel Islands campus.
In Irvine, a 25-year-old died after he fell off his bike into the bushes and was bitten, and last month, a 46-year-old Moorpark woman died after a rattlesnake bit her on a trail.
“In one case, we had a younger individual who was riding a bike in the area of Newbury Park on the Wendy trailhead, and the report was that that person had fallen off their bike and then been bitten by a rattlesnake,” Dowd said. “There was another instance of a homeowner who was gardening and inadvertently was bitten by a rattlesnake. There was another instance of a hiker who didn't realize that there was a snake there and had been bitten.”
Dowd advised that people should stay away from tall grass or brush where they can’t see where they’re stepping.
“And if you're stepping over rocks or logs to try to look before you step,” he said. “If somebody is bitten by a snake, try to remain calm and immediately call 911.”
Valdez reported that about 8000 people are bitten each year, with only a handful of deaths.
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