Image Credit: FILE PHOTO
January 04, 2018 - 11:17 AM
KAMLOOPS - There was a huge jump in the number of times the search and rescue volunteers in Kamloops with were called out last year.
It was a record year for tasks in 2017, according to a media release from Kamloops Search and Rescue. Crews were called out on 49 separate tasks last year, which was a 32 per cent increase compared to the numbers from 2016.
Search Manager Alan Hobler says there is no single reason for the big increase.
The previous record for tasks was 37 in 2016. The five-year average from 2012 to 2016 is 34 call outs per year.
The search and rescue volunteers put in 3,545 hours of work last year, which was twice as many as 2016. Hobler says the big increase in hours was due to having more active members and two-multiday searches last year.
In 2017, the new drone team took part in its first task in February and helped with eight other searches during the year.
Kamloops Search and Rescue averaged 30 active members in 2017, and 11 people completed their ground search and rescue training to become active members.
The search and rescue team logged over 22,000 kilometres on their four trucks throughout the year.
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