Just in time for spring sports season, Pemberton Search and Rescue (PSAR) is holding a pancake breakfast fundraiser. The March 30 event will fund the branch’s training and equipment.
Like other SAR programs around the province, the Pemberton dispatch is staffed with volunteers who maintain professional certifications. And while general search-and-rescue programs are often paid for by the Justice Institute, the more specialized, complicated disciplines require funds.
“The challenge that we have is maintaining a volunteer base where all of the certifications that everybody has are professional,” said PSAR president David MacKenzie. “So we have to maintain a professional slate of qualifications—everything from our rope teams, to our swift water teams, to the advanced medical care that our teams have, as well as all the basics in our search techniques and communications.”
PSAR has about 40 volunteer members, seven of whom are based in the Lillooet area. Together, they manage one of the largest search areas in the province, stretching 25,000 square kilometres from the ocean, halfway to Kamloops on the north side, to the head of Harrison Lake on the east side, down to Whistler. And because Whistler doesn’t have a swift water rescue team, the Pemberton SAR also covers any water-related calls around the resort municipality.
“We have a massive territory to cover, and the complexity of the types of calls that we're getting… everything from your mountain bikers, hikers, people getting lost, to vehicles going off the highway over embankments," said MacKenzie. “There's a myriad of different types of calls that we get."
At its peak, MacKenzie said PSAR was receiving between 70 and 80 calls, annually. Those calls have dropped off, MacKenzie suggests, due to lower snowfall, making conditions less dangerous for backcountry skiers and hikers, as well as forest fire season making folks want to stay indoors. Public education, particularly around Joffre Lakes Provincial Park, also plays a role in mitigating emergencies. Still, there’s plenty of work for PSAR.
In addition to having plenty of calls to respond to, PSAR's equipment gets above-average wear and tear on it, due to the team's constant training for action.
“We're continually doing training, So it's not like the equipment is just sitting there not being used unless we're on a call. We train constantly," MacKenzie said. "So our gear is being used and worked on all the time. And a lot of different components of our equipment will time out, they have a certain shelf life.”
This year marks PSAR’s first Pancake Breakfast. The inaugural event will be held Sunday, March 30 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Sunstone Golf Club. In addition to fluffy pancakes, the event will feature live music by Evan Phillips. The recommended donation is $10.
Check out the event’s Facebook page for more information.
