Search & Rescue
26
Operations
Again, multiple services from El Dorado County
were sent to aid those in need. Also, for the first
time in California history, Search and Rescue
Volunteers were sent to assist with locating
missing persons.
2018 saw another first, the Public Safety Power
Shutoff Program. In response to the frequency
with which electrical equipment was
contributing to the origin of California fires,
Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) started a
program in which they would preemptively shut
off power in areas that were experiencing
extreme weather conducive to the possibility of
fires. OES worked exhaustively with PG&E to
prepare facilities and community members in
the event the power was shut off. In October,
PG&E shut off power in El Dorado County. OES
opened the EOC to coordinate with state and
local resources, disseminate information and to
manage the response for the citizens impacted.
OES also communicated with PG&E on the
restoration of power. Based on the lessons
learned from the Public Safety Power Shutoff,
OES is working with stakeholders to better
prepare for future power shutoffs.
The El Dorado County Search and Rescue (SAR)
team consists of all volunteer citizens. The SAR
currently has approximately 180 members who
provide care for those who have lost their way in
and around El Dorado County. The SAR team is
currently made up of seven different groups
within SAR consisting of Technical Ropes, Swift
Water, Mounted, Canine, Off Highway Vehicle
(OHV) and Management Teams.
2018 saw some new challenges that team
members met head on with professionalism and
care for not only for the community in El Dorado
County, but also those surrounding counties
that were in need of aid. In the aftermath of the
tragic Camp Fire in the City of Paradise in Butte
County, there was great difficulty in locating the
hundreds of missing persons. Not only was this
the largest search in California history, this was
the first time SAR teams were utilized to help
locate those that were unable to make it out of
the fires alive. El Dorado County SAR sent over
80 team members that spent approximately
2,400 volunteer hours assisting the Camp Fire
search efforts. In addition to providing ground
resources, walking house to house in less than
desirable conditions, the Management Team
provided leadership and assistance with
operations related to the search. SAR volunteers
located several deceased victims, helping to
provide closure for those families.
In 2018, the El Dorado County SAR team also
hosted the California State SAR Exercise. Over
one hundred SAR volunteers not only planned,
but facilitated the entire state SAR exercise. The
event was held at the Lake Tahoe Community
College. This event provided training and
exercises for over 600 SAR volunteers from all
over California. This event was a great success
and provided training that will help save lives
throughout the state.
In addition to the above listed events, the
El Dorado County SAR team handled over 100
search and rescues within the county on both
the Western Slope and in the basin of South
Lake Tahoe. SAR teams were also requested in
multiple searches in other counties that include
Placer, Yuba, Sierra, Sacramento, Butte and
Nevada. To provide this level of service, team
members train for hundreds of hours throughout
the year to provide the most modern search
theories and technologies to bring those that are
lost home.
SAR volunteers bring an attitude of total
commitment and professionalism to not only
the citizens of El Dorado County, but to those
that visit here as well. Volunteers routinely put
themselves in harm’s way in accordance with
the team motto of, “So others may live.”