WNC Wilderness Safety Fund

05/03/2026

Our mission is to support rescue organizations in our region, both financially and through training.

Today, we, along with members of the Haywood County Search and Rescue team led training for regional rescuers in Murphy, NC.

We covered managing a search, self care, how/what to pack to facilitate a rescue, using technology to support search efforts, and effective patient packaging before hitting the forest for a mock rescue scenario involving 3 patients in various states of need.

Rescuers did a fantastic job following clues, making patient contact, prioritizing patients, packaging and extracting all patients safely.

Our goal is to continue to use your donations to provide the necessary training and gear to make sure our regional rescue teams are equiped with the things they need to effect positive outcomes for visitors to our wild places.

Thanks to our friends at the Murphy FD for their support and use of their facilities!

04/14/2026

We are down to a few slots remaining and would love to have you. Last call!

If you are part of emergency services in WNC, we’d love to have you!

We will be learning the fundamentals of a search and rescue with topics like setting up a search, search tools, patient packaging and movement in a wilderness setting, safety and risk management, and then putting it all together in a mock rescue scenario in the afternoon.

If you are interested, send us an email at [email protected]

03/22/2026

If you are part of emergency services in WNC, we’d love to have you!

We will be learning the fundamentals of a search and rescue with topics like setting up a search, search tools, patient packaging and movement in a wilderness setting, safety and risk management, and then putting it all together in a mock rescue scenario in the afternoon.

If you are interested, send us an email at [email protected]

03/12/2026

Do you work with a local SAR team, fire department, or emergency management organization in Western NC? If so, please consider joining the WNC Wilderness Safety Fund and our expert trainers in a FREE day of training in Murphy, NC. To register, please reach out via our email.

02/13/2026

12/02/2025

Did you know that the WNC Wilderness Safety Fund is a non-profit organization that helps to raise funds in support of volunteer search and rescue teams in Western North Carolina?

Donations from people like YOU help pay for life saving gear and training to ensure that people lost or hurt in our outdoor spaces have well equipped teams coming to their aid.

Today is giving Tuesday. If you want to support and give back to volunteer rescuers that dedicate countless hours to serving the people of Western North Carolina on their worst day, please consider donating. Any amount is helpful.

Here are some of the team members from Haywood County Search & Rescue, one of the teams we support!

You can help us out by sharing this on your profile as well!

11/10/2025

So proud of Haywood County Search & Rescue and neighboring agencies who responded to the call to help the lost fisherman.

05/12/2025

Great work to all involved!