By Ian Holmes

SAR call-outs surge in Nanaimo during typically slow time

Feb 20, 2017 | 1:58 PM

NANAIMO —An extremely busy start to the year for Nanaimo Search and Rescue (NSAR) has the volunteer organization worried about what lies ahead.

President Carly Trobridge said their crews have responded to half-a-dozen callouts already in 2017, which should be their slowest time of the year.

“Which is pretty unheard of for this time period in the early part of the year when there is still snow on the ground,” said Trobridge. “This time last year for the first six weeks of the year we only had one task, pretty big increase for us.”

Trobridge said typically March through May are their busiest months of the year.

“It seems to be a pretty common statistic with other teams as well and we’d likely relate it back to the improvement in the weather, sun is out, snow has melted, people want to get out hiking.”

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She noted that five of the six calls their members responded to this year were for lost and distraught hikers. Trobridge believes that none of those hikers had the 10 essentials that search and rescue officials preach, which includes extra food, water, a first-aid kit and shelter.

Trobridge said NSAR is equipped to handle consistent callouts, but states the heavy reliance on their volunteers does take a toll. She said a recent high-profile rescue proved to be a challenging weekend.

“It’s taxing though when you have especially two calls in one weekend, as we recently did during the Spencer Hunt search, we had our team split-up and were actually separated across the city on two different searches,” said Trobridge.

She said typically NSAR responds to about 25 tasked calls a year, many of those being lost hikers.

Ian.Holmes@jpbg.ca

Twiter: @reporterholmes

NSAR Top Ten Essentials

1. Fire starter (matches, lighter)
2. Flashlight or headlamp
3. Extra food and water
4. Extra clothes
5. Pocket knife
6. Shelter (tarp)
7. First aid kit
8. Compass or GPS device
9. Cell phone
10. Whistle or signal device

NSAR five-year call volumes

• 2012 – 25
• 2013 – 18
• 2014 – 26
• 2015 – 18
• 2016 – 25   

Source: Nanaimo Search and Rescue