Despite the hordes of people coming up to town for the long weekend, Squamish Search and Rescue says that it was a relatively slow three days for SAR volunteers.
“We’re here, and we’re ready to respond, obviously, but, certainly, it’s nice to give our volunteers some time off to enjoy their long weekend as well,” said rescue manager B.J. Chute on Tuesday.
“We’re glad people were recreating safely, and people were enjoying their time outside safely.”
Chute said that crews were called on three occasions, but only ended up responding on two of those cases.
The first call arrived on Aug. 2, when concerned bystanders saw a mother and a toddler on a paddleboard on the Squamish River.
Thinking the pair was in distress, they called first responders. However, it was later confirmed the paddlers were doing just fine, and no rescue operation was needed.
The second call came later that evening when a man had an allergic reaction at Garibaldi Lake.
Chute said the man had an anaphylactic reaction to peanuts, but was able to treat himself with an EpiPen and Benadryl while waiting for rescuers.
The man was able to walk to a helipad in the area and rescuers flew him back to Squamish Airport, where paramedics assessed him and took him to Squamish General Hospital.
“That was a pretty time-sensitive call obviously,” said Chute. “But they did all the right things. And he was prepared. He was able to treat himself. And with the help of some friends and some bystanders, he was able to get himself to our helipad, which made a very quick response.”
On Aug. 3, crews flew in to help a person who was suffering from a suspected ankle fracture.
The woman fell on the descent trail of Lovely Water Lake toward the Squamish River.
A hasty team — which is what search and rescue calls its first response team — flew up to the helipad at the lake. The crew ran down the trail and found her, splinted her leg and used a longline to airlift her out to the airport. Paramedics looked her over and she was sent to hospital.
Squamish Fire Rescue was kept busier over the weekend.
The fire department responded to 11 calls over the weekend, mostly for medical assists, traffic incidents and illegal fires, according to Chief Bill Stoner.
“Conditions are drying up quickly and campfires are only permitted on residential properties with a campfire permit. That means no fires by the river, on the beach or mountainside within District boundaries. We all want to safely enjoy the outdoors and so please take all the necessary fire smart precautions. Wildfires can spread quickly and no one intends to start one. Be cautious, be safe, be smart,” Stoner said in an emailed statement.
In addition to their regular duties, Squamish RCMP said that officers spotted garbage, graffiti, toilet paper and feces in parks and recreational sites throughout town.
Some of the things we saw during our August Long Weekend Patrols in our rec sites and backcountry: garbage, graffiti, toilet paper/feces...please if you come to the Sea to Sky “pack out what you pack in”. pic.twitter.com/kGQFmzCvoZ
— Squamish RCMP (@SquamishRCMP) August 4, 2020
“If you come to the Sea to Sky, pack out what you pack in,” read a post from police on Twitter.
Officers were also present at Cat Lake, where they spent time pouring out liquor on the beach and docks.
But back to rescue calls, even though the long weekend was relatively quiet, search and rescue crews were still working throughout the week leading up to the holiday.
On July 28, a mountain biker crashed on the Entrails route. It was a bit of deja-vu, as it mirrored a call a few days beforehand.
This rider also had a lower leg injury and had fallen at the same spot of the trail — the Whale Back Rock, Chute said.
SAR sent a ground team, splinted the person’s leg and flew him out on a longline to Squamish Airport where he was brought to B.C. Ambulance and transferred to hospital.
On July 29, crews were called to help a rider who crashed around the Four Lakes Trail but stood down quickly after. A search and rescue member in the area at the time happened to come across the injured rider, and brought the injured person to the road behind Alice Lake where Squamish Fire Rescue and B.C. Ambulance crews were able to handle the rest.
The following day, rescuers were called to the aid of a climber who fell between 15 to 20 feet to the ground.
She took the fall off the first pitch of Slot Machine at the Bulletheads of the Stawamus Chief.
Chute said the climber suffered a suspected wrist fracture, as well as possible ankle and spinal injuries.
Rescuers longlined the climber out to Stawamus Elementary, where paramedics were waiting to treat and bring her to hospital.
