The near-fatal accident that seriously injured a 15-year-old Seaside girl has roused fresh warnings of danger at Youngs River Falls.

Katie Camberg was enjoying the final days of summer swimming with friends at the base of the falls Aug. 23 when she decided to jump from the top. She plummeted an estimated 75 feet to the bottom, landing facedown in the water and bouncing off the rocky cliff on her way down.

There are no signs indicating the hazards looming at the waterfall’s peak: slippery rocks, a steep drop and a deceptive cliff that slopes outward. But that doesn’t mean officials haven’t tried to post warnings in the past, said Olney-Walluski Fire Chief Ron Tyson.

“Signs are very hard to keep out there because of vandalism,” Tyson said. “There were some nice interpretive signs there that have been ripped off or shot. It’s hard to keep anything up.”

However, he wonders if people are aware of the danger at the site, owned by the city of Astoria and bordered by Weyerhaeuser Co. timberland.

He doesn’t recall how long ago someone died there, but it has happened. Within the past 10 years, he said, a young adult slammed into the rocks when he jumped, breaking both legs and ending up confined to a wheelchair for months.

“There’s an accident out there about every year. We responded twice last year, but they weren’t as serious. People jumped, but not all the way from the top; they jumped from about halfway,” Tyson said. “It is extremely dangerous to climb up there and jump off. There have been fatalities out there.

“(Camberg) is very lucky; had those friends of hers not been at the bottom, she would have been a fatality.”

Emergency responders brave a steep and winding climb down rugged trails to help people hurt at the falls. At least 15 volunteer firefighters from the Olney-Walluski and Lewis and Clark rural fire departments responded to Camberg’s accident. Despite her small size – she’s barely taller than 5 feet and weighs roughly 100 pounds – “it was a real chore getting her up the hill,” Tyson said. “A couple of volunteers slipped and could have easily fallen off the cliff themselves.”

In addition, they were on scene from about 6 p.m., starting with Kevin Miller of the Lewis and Clark Department, to about 1:30 a.m., Tyson said. “We were on scene quite awhile because of the nature of her injuries. We had to stabilize her multiple fractures, so it took awhile.”

Camberg was taken by ambulance to Columbia Memorial Hospital, then flown to Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland, where she was put in a medically-induced coma. She suffered numerous injuries, breaking her right arm above the elbow, her left leg below the knee, her right leg above the knee, some teeth and her nose. She shattered both heels and her pelvis, said her father, Rod Camberg.

On Wednesday, he said she had a tracheostomy tube in her neck and her jaw was wired shut, but overall, “the recovery process is going awesome.” He expects his daughter to be out of the intensive care unit by the end of the week.

“She’s awake and responsive, but just really frustrated she can’t talk,” he said. In addition, it will likely be three months before she can walk again, and she’ll need more surgery to replace bone she’s missing below the knee.

Eventually, she’ll be back at Seaside High School with her friends, who have been visiting regularly in Portland, her dad said. Friends also have organized fundraisers to help pay for her medical care, and the community has pitched in as well, making T-shirts and armbands to show support and hosting benefits, such as the upcoming raffle Sept. 15 at Goose Hollow at the Cove and a spaghetti feed fundraiser Sept. 21 at the Bob Chisholm Community Center in Seaside.

Rod Camberg is grateful for the help.

“It’s very humbling,” he said. “I feel so lucky to live in this small community.”

Tyson, the fire chief, hopes Katie Camberg’s accident will serve as a warning for others swimming at Youngs River Falls.

“They don’t happen this seriously all the time, but accidents out there happen frequently,” he said. “People need to be aware of that.”