Campbell River Search and Rescue is praising the preparedness of an injured hiker they rescued Saturday in Strathcona Provincial Park.
The man, who suffered a lower-body injury, had filled out an emergency plan before heading into the wilderness and was using an InReach communication device.
The device allowed search and rescue members to communicate with the hiker via text in real time, while the emergency plan outlined his trip plan.
“Having a communication device and an emergency plan before he went into the wilderness made the rescue go smooth and fast,” said a post on Campbell River Search and Rescue’s Facebook page.
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The hiker was found near the Golden Hinde and with the “remote nature of the rescue the decision was made to fly into the Golden Hinde with one team and have another team assist by driving to the south end of Buttle Lake for support.”
The hiker was loaded into the helicopter and transported to Campbell River where he was handed off to BC Ambulance.
Campbell River SAR said that having improved and more reliable wilderness technology has changed how search and rescue operations are performed.
“No longer are we receiving generic SOS call outs from EPIRBs (emergency position indicating radio beacons) or SPOT devices as we are getting detailed information containing location and the type of injuries that have occured,” said the Campbell River SAR Facebook post. “With the flow [of] information being in real time from the injured subject to the SAR hall we are able to better prepare for call outs with proper gear, personnel and first aid supplies, which make for quicker and more efficient rescues.”
As SAR members were recovering from the morning rescue, they were called out to assist BC Ambulance with an injured subject on Quadra Island, but were stood down.
Campbell River SAR said it’s always available for those in need.
For more information on ways to prepare for time in the wilderness, visit adventuresmart.ca.