By Chad Klassen

KSAR looking for more volunteers as calls increase

Sep 28, 2016 | 2:15 PM

KAMLOOPS — It’s nearing the end of September, and Kamloops Search and Rescue is close to equalling its call total from last year. 

KSAR has responded to 36 calls this year — compared to 37 in all of 2015 — and the type of calls the team is receiving has changed. 

Search and Rescue has been called out more this year to assist other emergency teams, but has spent less time finding people who have found themselves lost.

“It’s definitely varied. One thing we are seeing less of is overdue calls, where somebody doesn’t return home from hiking, and we think it’s probably because a lot of people have smartphones, which have GPS and mapping software. They’re not getting lost as they used to,” says KSAR manager Alan Hobler. 

With more calls, more volunteers are needed. KSAR is down in their volunteer base. 

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“At our peak, we’ve had about 50. Currently, we are at 32 I think, and we’re hoping to get another 10 to 15. I think a lot of people underestimate the time commitment it requires to be on a search and rescue team,” says Hobler. “It takes huge amounts of hours for training, and then call outs. They’ll come in the middle of the night, weekend and mid-week as well.”