The Haines Search and Rescue team met this Saturday
.Attendance was low due to family festivities and trips out of town. The few people present discussed the technicalities of coordinating different teams using satellite devices, mapping applications and lists of available resources. Search and Rescue company volunteer Tim Thomas explains:
“Yeah, we are trying to use technology, one of these mapping software is CalTopo, basically to where a person can pull up a map, and on that map are already preloaded icons of where people are and what resources they have.
This mapping and listing will help with operations
“So, if there is an ATV, is it out Mud Bay, or is it at Lutak, or is it at 10 miles, you know, based on where the incident is, it’s putting those people and resources in the right place at the right time.”
But with limited resources, education may be the most effective way to keep people safe.
“Where do we put our time and effort with Search and Rescue at the department, and obviously we need to train ourselves, but given this environment and this community, we feel that a lot of our efforts could be in education and training to the community, especially young kids. And so again the thought process is to provide people with information so they can make good decisions on their own and hopefully don’t need the SAR.”
It’s called preventative search and rescue.
