Incident Management Team

The Sar Council is pleased to announce that Volunteer Forces and the Board of Chiefs has accepted and approved the Council's proposal to establish a countywide Incident Management Team (IMT).

This team will be staffed and trained to assist the Station Commanders during emergency and/or search operations. The primary purpose and mission of the IMT will be to provide experienced and trained personnel for Incident Command Structure (ICS) positions during these events. The IMT will be comprised of trained SAR volunteer members only, who have meet the requirements and qualifications as outlined by VF. The supervision and management of this team itself will be that of Volunteer Forces/ Emergency Operations. The Coordinator for this team will be Sergeant Jeff Joling of Volunteer Forces.

Click to read more ...

TRBC 2011 Weekend #1

!2 SAR members representing SB Mountain SAR, West Valley Posse, West Valley SAR, Wrightwood/Phelan SAR, and the Cave Team spent the first of two weekends deeply entrenched in the art and science of technical rope rescue. The next weekend session includes plenty of rescue scenarios followed by a written and practical exam. During the interim weeks, the students are busy studying and practicing for these events.

West Valley SAR: Run for Rescue

West Valley SAR's "Run for Rescue" and Safety Fair is April 30, 2011 at Chaffey College. This is a USTAF-sanctioned event. Download the flyer for more info.

SAR Volunteer Dies During Search

While walking his horse over an old dam, Gila County Sheriff's Posse member, Larry Woolsey, 77, lost his footing and fell approximately 20 feet.  Read the article in the Payson Roundup.

Recent PVS Graduates Demonstrate Rope Prowess

personal vertical skills course 2011 from san bernardino mountain SAR on Vimeo.

SB Mountain SAR , along with members of the Cave and Technical Rescue Team, and Wirghtwood/Phelan SAR, hosted a 6 evening personal vertical skills course. members from Rim of the World SAR, West Valley SAR, West Valley Mounted Posse,  and Dave Nicolet himself, also attended the course. 

Apple Valley Posse: Expanding the Role of the Horse

Apple Valley Sheriff’s Posse is paving the way for San Bernardino County MSAR with several upcoming training events [Click this link for a flyer-Ed.] specifically designed to demonstrate and exploit the significant advantages of the horse.  Following two months of heavy academics and bad weather, we initiated annual HARMS certifications for all members in March.  Also,  we kicked off our packing program with the certification and qualification of two pack teams and have more on the way.

Click to read more ...

Belay Workshops: Catching a Live Fall

From Photos

An important skill, a life saving one at that, is a rope belay. It is a skill emphasized and taught in SAR. However it is skill that thankfully is rarely used. Cognitively, it is a perishable skill. Teach a person to belay. A year later, he/she may or may not recall the details of how to do it. Have the person actually catch a fall, the learning goes much deeper.

Click to read more ...

OHV Training June 3-5

OHV training is being offered by Bear Valley SAR. Read the flyer for details. Contact Mike Westover to sign up.

West Valley SAR and The Cave Team Successfully Complete Recert

On Saturday, March 6, all MRA-accredited rope rescue teams in California converged on the Alabama Hills, near Lone Pine to demonstrate their rope rescue skills. The Cave Team and West Valley SAR participated in the event as part of their annual MRA recertification. Fully-accredited MRA teams must pass an annual recertification in one of the three disciplines: technical rope rescue, search and tracking, and winter/alpine rescue. This year's event was hosted by Ventura County SAR.

View CRMRA 2011 Recert in a larger map

Each team provides two evaluators and a victim, who are used in the evaluation of other teams. For example, one of our evaluators proctored the Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit's test, while the other evaluated Sierra Madre SAR. After an hour-long evaluator training session, there was a short briefing, and the teams made their way to the testing locations.

The typical scenario involves a patient raise and lower with careful attention to the medical care provided. Due to the terrain in the region, it was necessary to perform a number of operations to move the victim to an appropriate location. The evaluators assess 6 areas: Leadership, Operational Plan, Communications, Safety, Medical, and Technical. Each of these areas are assigned a score of 1-3, and a minimum passing score is 12. At the conclusion of the scenario, the evaluators debrief the team, and provide the score. If a passing score is not received, then the team must re-test at a later date.

Ventura County SAR finished the day with a barbeque of tri tip and chicken, which tasted great after a day in the field. Organizing such an event is a lot of work, and they did a great job. I am continually amazed at the number of well-trained, dedicated, SAR resources that are available to the residents of California. It is truly a sight to behold.

Skier Found Near Mt. San Jacinto

Riverside County requested assistance with the search for a missing skier on Mt. San Jacinto on February 21. This call came right on the back of a call to the Baldy area for a missing hiker, and is the typical pattern whenever there is a signficant storm. A similar scenario occured early in January when there were back-to-back and simultaneous searches for a snowboarder on Baldy, hikers in Lake Elsinore, and a hiker on San Jacinto.

Members of SB Mountain SAR, the Cave Team, and Rim SAR responded and were assigned to search likely areas near the summit and Round Valley. The skier was eventually located in the Willow Creek drainage area by members of Sierra Madre SAR and the China Lake Mountain Rescue Group. A unique aspect of this search was the request for backcountry skiers. The conditions were optimized for significant "postholing", so travelling by skis was more efficient.

Riverside County press release

News article

View Search for Backcountry Skier on Mt. San Jacinto in a larger map