Teen Survives 35-Foot Fall Off Cliff

A 16-year-old boy was seriously injured Friday afternoon when he slipped off a cliff and fell about 30 feet into a privately-owned lake, officials said.

At about 4:45 p.m. firefighters responded to an unincorporated area of Alameda County between Livermore and Pleasanton, just off Vineyard Avenue, to help a teen who had fallen off an embankment.

"The boy managed to get himself out of the water and onto a ledge," said Jeff Peters, Battalion Chief.

Peters described the drop-off from the edge of the cliff as being very steep and straight up and down.

Within 10 minutes, two firefighters were able to safely get down the cliff and near the boy to treat him for his injuries.

Meanwhile, fire crews at the top of the cliff rigged up a roping system to help lift the boy up out of the lake.

However, Peters said it became apparent that option would be difficult given the boy's injury — a fractured upper right leg.

A rescue boat via Fire Station 1 in Pleasanton was then called to the scene.

The boat entered through a nearby construction facility with lake access, Peters said.

"It ended up being a really well-done water rescue," Peters said.

The boat is kept on hand for any possible rescues needed from area creeks but is rarely used — most likely last being called into action about 10 years ago for an emergency at

At 7:15 p.m. firefighters were able to get the boy out of the lake and he was taken by helicopter to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley.

The area where the boy fell is private property, Peters said.

"He and a group of his friends were somewhere they shouldn't have been," Peters said. "Getting away with a broken leg is a tough lesson to learn, but it certainly could have been worse."

Livermore Patch will update this story with pictures from the fire department.