The holidays were quiet for the members of Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue.
The last callout was helping with the search for a missing 62-year-old Maple Ridge in Mission just after Christmas. His vehicle was found in the area of Florence Lake and Sayres Lake.
“We had about a dozen people go out there for at least two days,” said Rick Laing, one of the group’s managers.
Local searchers assisted Mission’s group and have stood down, but he said could return to help if there’s new information.
Members of the Ridge Meadows group have been sent to help in various searches and operations.
“We can be asked to deploy to anywhere in the province or outside the province if that request comes through,” he explained.
That means that thanks to mutual aid agreements, Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue can ask other search groups to help it when there’s a large area to cover or other factors that make it a large-scale incident.
“We’ve had a couple of searches down in the Lower Mainland and even a couple within Maple Ridge where we’ve asked to bring searchers in from as far as field as the Interior and Vancouver Island because the search is such so large,” said Laing, who has been with the group for about 40 years.
The local group has about 33 members, including a handful of new ones who are in the training phase.
“We average around 40 to 50 [call outs annually] and that inclues some of the mutual aid agreements,” Laing expained.
To help the group do its work, it holds its annual tree chipping fundraiser. The first weekend, Jan. 3 and 4, was busy despite the heavy rains, he noted.
The search group teams up with the 1st Haney Venturers Scouts who do tree pickups (by donation) and with Barlett Tree Services to host the fundraiser at the SAR site, 23598 Jim Robson Way. Tree chipping is available Saturday, Jan. 10 and Sunday, Jan. 11 as well.
“They’ll be there rain or shine,” he said.
The public can drop off cut trees between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., and chipping is by donation.
To book a tree pickup, go to the Scout website.
The tree chipping is an important fundraiser for the search group and has been going on for about three decades.
“We chip the trees. The Boy Scouts will go out, and they’ll collect some trees and so we we can both make some money through donations,” he said.
Learn more about the search and rescue group on its website rmsar.bc.ca or its Facebook page.