Water filter, whistle - sounds like she had at least some appropriate gear with her. Love to have more details - no matches or lighter?

Good story, but you have to wonder if some other signaling, such as a large colorful object like a Heat Sheet blanket, would have helped. There was a LOT of smoke in the area.

She was not in the immediate search area. Did she not let the others know where she was going, did she know where she was going? Not looking to find fault other than a lessons learned for what could have prevented or mitigated the incident.

I think the line about her being a solo hiker is very telling.

I saw a fragment on TV in the morning today, where the 15 year old volunteer said how he has spotted the lady down the valley well below his trek after hearing the whistle.

A backpacker's pack is, of course, nothing but a large survival kit. But I've read many accounts where people became separated from their backpack (or basecamp, vehicle, etc.) somehow, and then become lost, injured or otherwise get into difficulty.

This emphasises the importance of keeping your essential survival supplies securely attached to your person at ALL times when out and about, and also part of what makes Mr. Ritter's survival kits such brilliant and useful designs.

They can be buttoned or zipped safely into a pocket and largely forgotten about. But you can count on them being there with you when you really need them.