The Carbon County Search and Rescue team is a group of volunteers within the community that donate their personal time to help others in need. Often times the team is unnoticed for the many aspects of rescue that they are able to perform. Carbon County Sheriff Jeff Wood took time on his weekly update to talk about the team.

“Just an amazing group of guys, our Search and Rescue and their all-volunteer. They drop everything and leave, they are so excited to do it,” said Wood. “I just love their enthusiasm and the dedication they have to their community.” Search and Rescue would not be possible without the dedication of citizen volunteers willing to train throughout the year to remain proficient in their skills.

“Search and Rescue this time of year is very well equipped. We have snow mobiles, we have a snow cat, of course they have awesome four-wheel drive vehicles and ATVs and UTVs and all that stuff,” stated Wood. All of these vehicles make it possible to go into the back country and rescue individuals that are in need help.

Often times individuals hesitate to call the team for help because they think they are able to fix the situation on their own, but by doing so can make the entire situation more serious as time goes by. “We would prefer form a Search and Rescue standpoint, early on, earlier is better, most people will wait till almost dark but that’s kind of backwards thinking,” advised Wood. Although the team trains for every scenario possible individuals who wait till it’s dark to reach out for help not only puts themselves at risk but the team as well. Folks need to remember that if they happen to get in trouble with their vehicle, the team can only rescue them and not their vehicle due to liability issues.

Just a reminder to anyone headed to the high country, be sure to always share your route/destination with family and friends, take plenty of water and food, means to build a fire and know areas where you have cell phone service.

Community members should thank members of the Search and Rescue Team for a job well done. To learn more about the team visit their Facebook Page.