Vernon Search And Rescue Group Society

10/13/2026

We get asked the same questions a lot. This is a great explanation.

WHY DOESN’T NORTH SHORE RESCUE CHARGE FOR RESCUES?

Whenever we post about a rescue, we inevitably see comments suggesting that the people we rescue should have to pay for it.

It’s an understandable reaction. Search and rescue operations can be expensive, and when someone appears to have made poor decisions, it’s easy to think they should be responsible for the cost.

But there are some very important reasons why we believe search and rescue should remain free.

1. Charging for rescues could cost lives.

This is the single biggest reason.

Imagine you’re lost, injured, or stranded in the mountains. It’s getting dark, the temperature is dropping, and you’re trying to decide whether to call for help.

Now imagine knowing that making that call could result in a bill for thousands, or even tens of thousands, of dollars.

Some people will hesitate. Some will try to get themselves out of trouble. Others may wait until their situation becomes desperate.

A rescue that could have been relatively straightforward in daylight can become significantly more dangerous after dark or when weather deteriorates.

We want people to call for help early, not when it’s too late.

2. Who decides what’s negligent?

We often hear the suggestion that we should only charge people who have been reckless or negligent.

But who makes that determination?

Is hiking without a headlamp negligent? What about getting caught in unexpected weather? Taking the wrong trail? Underestimating how long a hike will take?

Where do we draw the line between an honest mistake, poor judgment, and negligence?

To make those decisions fairly, someone would need to investigate the circumstances, establish criteria, determine responsibility, and potentially defend those decisions in court.

That means lawyers, disputes, appeals, and significant administrative costs.

And those costs could easily outweigh whatever money might be recovered.

3. Collecting money isn’t free.

North Shore Rescue is a volunteer organization. Our members dedicate thousands of hours to helping people in need.

Charging for rescues would require an entirely new administrative system.

Someone would need to calculate rescue costs, issue invoices, track payments, follow up on unpaid bills, handle disputes, and potentially pursue collections.

What happens when someone can’t afford to pay? Do we send their bill to collections? Take them to court?

All of that takes time, money, and resources that could otherwise support search and rescue operations.

4. Nobody plans to need rescuing.

The vast majority of people we rescue never expected to find themselves in trouble.

Accidents happen. Weather changes. Equipment fails. People get injured. Even experienced and well-prepared outdoor enthusiasts can find themselves needing assistance.

Yes, some people make poor decisions. And yes, some rescues are preventable.

But making mistakes shouldn’t mean someone has to weigh their financial future against calling for help.

5. Our priority is saving lives, not assigning blame.

Our volunteers don’t head into the mountains to judge how someone got into trouble.

We go because someone needs help.

We absolutely believe in personal responsibility, preparation, proper equipment, and making good decisions in the backcountry. Public education and prevention are a huge part of what we do.

But when something goes wrong, we want people to know they can call for help without worrying about receiving a bill.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Charging for rescues might sound like a simple way to recover costs or encourage better decisions.

In reality, it creates serious problems: delayed calls for help, potentially more dangerous rescues, complicated judgments about negligence, and an expensive system to administer and enforce payments.

We believe the best approach is to invest in prevention, education, and a strong volunteer search and rescue system.

If you’re in trouble in the backcountry, call for help. Call early. Don’t wait until your situation becomes an emergency.

Our mission is to save lives. And we believe keeping search and rescue free helps us do exactly that.

- JB

10/01/2026

Are you ready for the cooler temperatures of autumn, with winter peeking around the corner?

This last weekend, we had a crew make a pre-winter maintenance run up to our solar powered radio repeater hut out in the Monashee Mountains. And low and behold, we found some white stuff at moderately low elevation!

This got us dreaming of our favorite winter pursuits, but also got us thinking of the long list of things that need changeover before snow hits the valley bottom, such as:

Its time to install the winter tires
Its time that tire chains and show brushes make their way back into vehicles
Its time to switch over to winter windshield juice
Its time to confirm trailer/vehicle batteries are fully charged
Its time to disconnect water hoses from all outside faucets
Its time to carry extra clothing, gloves, and a toque on any trip
Its time that headlamps and/or flashlights are critical to bring along
Its time to keep phones and other batteries warm to help them last longer

And most importantly, its time to get out and any enjoy this beautiful and colorful time of the year before it gets covered by a winter blanket of white!

Play safe out there everyone.

And if you ever need us, we are on-call 24/7 simply by dialing 9-1-1.

09/19/2026

Dirtbike season is back!

And there is no faster way to ruin an invigorating ride through the woods on a beautiful sunny autumn day than a fall that leads to a suspected broken leg.

Just before noon yesterday morning, we were called to the Bardolph Lake off-road riding area in response to a 9-1-1 call with report of a "wiggly" leg.

With our subject and his riding partner within cell service, we were able to poll their phone to get very accurate GPS coordinates. But that only told us where to get to, not necessarily how best to get there. Thankfully, our subjects were also able to text us some mapping of their route, which helped narrow our access down somewhat.

We dispatched a crew of 8 with ATVs, a SxS, and our boggan for towing a stretcher. And included in this crew were members of our Advanced Medical Team.

When we arrived at our subject, we assessed, administered medical treatment, splinted their leg, loaded them onto stretcher and into our boggan, and headed back down the trails and roads to a waiting ambulance.

The big take-aways on this call were:

- All in, it was a few hours from the 9-1-1 call to when we arrived to our subjects, as our members had to leave their paid jobs, get home to grab their gear, move onto our hall to then drive trucks and machines out to the FSR parking area, before making the final run up the logging roads and trails.

- Depending on where someone is when they call for help, this is a very normal response time for us. So if you are venturing into the woods, please expect this and prepare accordingly (AdventureSmart Carry The Essentials).

- In this case, our subjects were exceptionally positive, well prepared, calm, helpful, and had set themselves up well to be as comfortable as possible as they already knew that it can take us some time to get to people. Kudos to your both!

09/16/2026

🌲🔍 TRACKING TRAINING | SEPTEMBER 11–13, 2026
Boots on. Eyes down. Let’s track! 👣
What a weekend! Vernon Search and Rescue was proud to host a BC Tracking Association (BCTA) Tracking Course at our VSAR Hall and in Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park! 38 participants. 8 VSAR members. SAR teams from across BC and beyond! 🌎 Joining us were: COSAR, Shuswap SAR, Kamloops SAR, Nicola Valley, Wells Gray, Castlegar, Princeton, Ft. St. James, Cowichan Bay, Juan de Fuca, South Columbia, our local RCMP Dog Handler and a Mountain Rescue Team member from Chile!

This training session included in-class learning, plenty of hands-on field training and tracking that went well into both evenings in Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park. Plus, a critter talk from our local SAR wildlife expert Pete Wise! 🐾. This was a weekend of building skills, sharing stories, making connections and having some fun along the way!
Big shout-out to our local supporters:
🍽️ Canada Safeway – Your deli team and catering is the Best!
☕ Village Green Starbucks –Thank You for your excellent customer service!
🍽️ Jims Place Pizza – Pizza was delicious!
🌿 BC Parks – Thank You for allowing this training to proceed!
📍 City of Vernon – We appreciate the pins!

To our local organizers, instructors, participants, volunteers and supporters – Thank You!

Special shout out to our own Mike Leggat on achieving his Track Aware. Another skill for VSAR!!

Great people. Valuable skills. Stronger teams. 💪

09/13/2026

It was a quick one yesterday!

At approximately 7:30am, we received a request from RCMP to assist an individual who was camping up Aberdeen plateau and had sustained an injury that left him unable to drive.

After receiving a 9-1-1 call, RCMP was able to ping the individual's cell phone to provide us with a starting location. But we've long ago learned that phone pings can be hit-and-miss...triangulation can be error prone in fringe areas with weak cell tower coverage, people don't always stay in the same place after making their call, and Forest Service Roads can be a maze to negotiate due to deactivations and seasonal issues like bridge repairs and washouts. So our rule is to always hope for the best but plan for the worst, and we sent out a crew of 6, spread between 3 vehicles, and brought along our ATVs to cover all our bases.

In this case, we didn't encounter any hiccups and by approximately 9:45 we had reached the injured camper, assessed for any medical complications, repositioned him into a vehicle, and began transporting back to pavement to hand over to the waiting ambulance for approximately 10:30.

No big lessons to be passed along on this one, so we'll instead just remind everyone enjoying the outdoors that we are always just a phone call away if you need us....by calling 9-1-1.

09/12/2026

We are on task

09/09/2026

Is it just us, or was the Monashee Mountains busier than usual this summer?

This Sunday evening was our 4th call to this area in the last month alone: 2 calls for injuries and 2 calls for overdue hikers.

On this most recent call, a pair of hikers had done the right thing by letting family know they were heading for the Pinnacles. And when they didn't check in by late evening, their family did the right thing in calling 9-1-1.

There was initially some uncertainty whether the hikers were aiming for Pinnacles Lake or Pinnacles Peak, which are accessed by different trailheads. But the hikers went above and beyond by also giving their family coordinates of where they intended to park, and we were very thankful when we found their vehicle parked exactly where they said it would be!

The good-news was it confirmed they were accessing Pinnacle Peak via the Monashee Lake Trail. The not-so-good news being it also confirmed they were on the more difficult of the two trails in terms of terrain, elevation gain, and navigation, and we were setting off in the rain well after midnight. As our teams started in pursuit, we also launched our drone with thermal camera to try to identify any hotspots that should be investigated on the chance our overdue hikers had lost the trail.

In the end, we came across the hikers up by Monashee Lake, and it was only then that we learned they had always intended to spend the night, with our involvement being the result of an unfortunate hiccup in communication within their family.

Regardless of why we ended up there, it turned out not to be a waste of time just the same. It turned out that the hikers were not fully prepared for the rain and the cooler temperatures at higher elevation. So with everyone more than just a little wet, cold, and tired by that point, they agreed it was prudent for them to come down with our team. Given the less-than-ideal conditions, we opted to delay our descent until daylight. And given the state of the group, it was determined appropriate to contract a helicopter to extricate everyone involved (thank you Graham Helicopters for the lift!)

And thank you to our 13 members that pulled the all-nighter!

08/23/2026

08/17/2026

💧 BIG SHOUTOUT TO REAL CANADIAN WHOLESALE CLUB & LOBLAWS! 💧
Vernon Search and Rescue would like to thank the team at Real Canadian Wholesale Club & Loblaws for their generous donation of a full pallet of water! 🙌
This donation will help support our search and rescue operations, providing water for our team, subjects, and mutual-aid partners during responses, training, and operational activities.
We truly appreciate your support and generosity. It helps keep our team prepared and ready to respond when needed.
Thank you, Real Canadian Wholesale Club & Loblaws! 💧🚑⛰️

08/06/2026

This sure felt like deja vu from a few years ago!

It was a busy weekend for Vernon SAR working alongside the many emergency services responding to the Bradley Creek Wildfire.

Saturday saw our boat crews on Okanagan Lake, working to usher boating looky-loos out of the way of the water bombers and helicopters that were actioning the fire.

Then as the wind progressively worsened and drove other boats off to shelter, our boats switched to battling the increasingly angry seas to extricate people by water.

At the same time, we had ground crews assembled for delivery of evacuation notices.

After the high winds, Sunday saw us delivering evacuation notices to a much-expanded area, for which we welcomed extra manpower brought to bear by our neighboring friends from Central Okanagan SAR (Kelowna), Shuswap SAR (Salmon Arm), and Kamloops SAR. It is absolutely critical to be efficient, but thorough, with evacuation notices, and each of these interior teams have developed these skills first-hand through eerily similar wildfire events in everyone's backyards over the past few years.

Finally, Monday was a bit of a reprieve to restock supplies, before we were called back to it Tuesday for some more door-to-door notice deliveries.

We truly wish all the best to those that have been affected by these wildfires. And we wish to say a deep-hearted THANK YOU to all of those that are busy bringing some semblance of normalcy back to this not-normal situation.