B.C. search and rescue crews respond to 55 calls in one week
Posted June 25, 2021 8:47 am.
Last Updated June 25, 2021 8:54 am.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – It was a busy week for search and rescue groups across B.C., with teams responding to 55 tasks over the span of seven days.
That’s according to the BC Search and Rescue Association, which says the efforts between June 14 and 21 involved 662 volunteers who were tasked with helping more than 80 lost or injured people.
Most of the calls involved operations on land, but there were a few water rescues and even a handful of air incidents, which ended up being emergency locator beacons either malfunctioning or going off while in a shipment.
55 tasks + 662 #BCSAR volunteers = busy 7 days! These unpaid #searchandrescue professionals were called to help >80 lost or injured subjects last week.
Wkly incident summary https://t.co/fxXGIY2Iko
: North Shore Rescue, Fernie SAR, Nanaimo SAR, Kent Harrison SAR pic.twitter.com/G2FJqfZpq2
— BCSARA (@BCSARAssoc) June 25, 2021
With much of the South Coast now in the midst of a heatwave, search and rescue groups are issuing a warning to anyone who’s planning to head outdoors this weekend.
North Shore Rescue, which is North America’s busiest SAR team, says many of the calls its members have responded to in recent days have been preventable.
“We really want to stress to people to bring extra water, make sure you’re hydrated before you go on your hike, and make sure you do the research on the hike to make sure it’s appropriate to your fitness level,” said Mike Danks, NSR team lead.
Pls. avoid hiking right now. @NSRescue recently completed a pair of rescues involving hikers struggling w/the heat, inclu. one person who blacked out. There's also still snow on some mountains. NSR has responded to 90+ calls so far and is on track to break the 2020 record of 151.
— Sonia Aslam (@SoniaSAslam) June 24, 2021
-With files from Denise Wong
