Search & Rescue Info

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'Incident Commander' software help find Whistler Alpine Hiker Lost for Six Days

Spearhead Traverse Alpine Rescue managed using 'Incident Commander’ software

‘Incident Commander’ software permits faster, more Efficient Response to the Avalanche Incident

Pre-Planned 'Incident Commander' Mission matches actual Major Flood-Response Mission

‘Incident Commander’ software assists Evacuation Response for 30,000 fleeing Forest Fires

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Major wilderness search on Mt. Elizabeth managed using 'Incident Commander' Software

On Friday 20th August 2004 Samuel Black, a 39 year-old university professor from Vancouver, set off on an overnight scrambling trip into Whistler's Brandywine Mountain region. The weather was warm and clear as Sam parked his car and followed the trail up the Brandywine Valley and onto the subalpine ridges at the 6500ft elevation. During the evening the long spell of clear weather ended and heavy cloud began to descend onto the mountain range. By Saturday morning the complex, glaciated 7500ft elevation mountain range, including Brandywine Mountain, Metaldome Mountain, Power Mountain, Mount Fee and Mount Cayley, were all shrouded in thick cloud.

When Sam did not return for an evening engagement in Vancouver on Saturday night his family and friends became concerned. However

Sam was fairly well equipped, as he had taken a tent, sleeping bag and was wearing good outdoor clothing. He had also advised his friends to wait one extra day, in case he was delayed, before calling the police. After waiting an anxious day by Sunday afternoon Samuel had still not returned, and so, with low cloud still clinging to the mountains, the police were notified and Whistler SAR asked to respond.

Soon after notification on late Sunday afternoon a search helicopter was dispatched to the Brandywine region but only managed to find intermittent breaks in the thick cloud cover. The high mountain range, in a region where southern maritime and northern outflow winds combine, is known locally for it's bad weather and heavy precipitation. By nightfall, after only sporadic glimpses into the region, the helicopter returned to Base. There were no new clues as to Sam's location.

On Monday 23rd August the bad weather continued and Whistler SAR attempted to deploy ground teams into the Brandywine search area. Thick clouds hampered their search efforts while also severely restricting the searching of the alpine region from the air. Sam's family and friends were interviewed and a number of alternative potential destinations in the area were identified. Late in the afternoon the ground search teams returned to their Whistler SAR base, reporting only 10 meter visibility in the rugged Brandywine region.

On Tuesday 24th August Whistler SAR increased the search effort and called in mutual aid from the neighboring Pemberton Search and Rescue and Squamish Search and Rescue teams. The lower logging roads in the Squamish River Valley, on the West side of the Brandywine range, were patrolled, but their were no signs of Samuel Black having exited in that direction. Detailed interviews with family and friends indicated the distinct possibility of an expanded search area. Samuel was reported to have previously climbed the neighboring Metaldome Mountain and was said to be interested in travelling to Grizzly Lake, below Powder Mountain, as well as having considered a high level alpine traverse south from Grizzly Lake, past the steep spires of Mount Fee, to Cypress Mountain. Access to all of these areas was possible from his known starting location in the lower Brandywine Valley.

By now the local SAR teams from Whistler, Pemberton and Squamish had been searching for three days, placing a heavy toll on their volunteer services. High level representatives from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police visited the Whistler SAR base and discussions were opened with the Provincial Emergency Program, to find ways to sustain and improve the SAR response to this major alpine search.

On Wednesday 25th August the search continued with occasional flights possible over the lower Brandywine Valley, but generally the main high alpine areas remained shrouded in cloud and inprenetrable by air. Twenty ground searchers were dispatched into the region but again found the visibility to be extremely poor. In a region of high alpine peaks, cliff bands, deep ravines and open glaciers with exposed crevasses, safe travel was severely restricted by the poor visibility. By mid afternoon the ground searchers started to return to the SAR base, frustrated again by the lack of opportunity to travel far into the alpine region.

Early Wednesday evening two experienced Search Manager's from Lions Bay SAR and the North Shore Rescue arrived to provide additional planning and organizational support to this challenging search operation. A four computer network running the 'Incident Commander software was installed at the Whistler SAR base to handle the expanding planning, logistic and operational aspects of the search.

Additional fresh search teams were called in from Lions Bay SAR, the North Shore Rescue, Central Fraser Valley SAR, Surrey SAR and Coquitlam SAR, however the technical nature of the terrain restricted the responders to only those with significant experience in alpine travel and bad weather navigation. By midnight a software-prioritized set of expanded search assignments had been created and additional advance base camp equipment readied for immediate deployment at daybreak.

At 0770 hours on Thursday 26th August twenty-six skilled searchers were checked-in and briefed on their computer-generated alpine search assignments. A helicopter was dispatched to the Brandywine range and North Shore Rescue's 4-wheel drive mobile Command Post located alongside a Weatherhaven tent at the trailhead in the lower Brandywine valley.

Searchers took advantage of a brief early morning lifting of the cloud to fly into the Brandywine area but by 0800 hours the cloud was once again descending over the mountain range. The new search assignments generally accessed the range via the upper Brandywine Valley.

As the helicopter crossed over the Brandywine ridgeline searchers spotted a tiny figure on the Northwest Brandywine Glacier, he was located between steep rock walls on one side and open crevasses on the other. The helicopter quickly landed and soon identified the lone person as the missing hiker, Sam Black. Suffering from mild hypothermia, dehydration and a lack of food, Sam was flown back to the advanced base to be checked out by a paramedic, before being flown on to the Whistler Health Care Center for detailed assessment and treatment.

Skiers Geoff Orr (left) and Michal Opolsky (right) were rescued near the Platform Glacier on the Spearhead Traverse. Rescuer Doug Brown is at center.

Geoffery Orr, 29, and Michal Opolsky, 26, from NorthVancouver, B.C., had planned to ski the Spearhead Traverse, a major alpine tour that crosses 18 glaciers between Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains. They had expected to complete the traverse in four days but low visibility and spring storms trapped them on the mountains for nearly a week.

Tuesday 16th March 2004
After three days of touring the two skiers became disoriented in heavy cloud on the glaciers and at one point were alarmed to find their ski tips hanging over a void. They cautiously attempted to backtrack to their last know position, make camp for the night and wait out the poor weather. They had previously advised friends to allow them one extra day to finish the tour before calling search and rescue.

By Tuesday evening when the pair had not returned to Whistler family friends became worried.

"We negotiated for 18 hours and finally made the call to Search and Rescue at 7 p.m. on Wednesday," said Andrea Rodman, Orr's girlfriend. "We spent all night waiting and finally came up to Whistler to help."

Wednesday 17th March 2004
On Wednesday bad weather rolled into the mountains as a late spring storm dumped heavy snow onto the mountains. Avalanche conditions and visibility were so bad that mountain guides suspended all heli-skiing operations in the range.

Orr and Opolsky finished building their camp just before the major storm hit. Huge quantities of snow began to fall, followed by high winds, loading all of the mountain slopes to a dangerous avalanche condition.

"The toughest part was finding a place to pitch our tent," Orr said. "Once we were in the tent, it was like World War 2 because 150-km/h winds threatened to flatten us. We were worried of being buried alive, but as soon as the snow piled up, the wind would pick up and completely unbury us."

Thursday 18th March 2004
At the Whistler SAR Base searchers prepared for a major rescue mission. It was known that the pair had only enough food and fuel for three to four days and by Thursday evening six days had already passed. Heavy storms continued to pummel the mountains and only one brief helicopter sortie was completed. There were still no signs of the missing skiers.

On Thursday evening mutual aid SAR teams of alpine–skilled searchers were called in from Pemberton SAR, Squamish SAR, Lions Bay SAR, North Shore Rescue, Central Fraser Valley SAR, RidgeMeadows SAR and Surrey SAR.

A computer network running the 'Incident Commander' software was installed at the Whistler SAR Base to manage the incident. Mission briefings, field assignments, digital images and maps of the Spearhead Range, portraits of the skiers, weather reports and waypoint routes of the entire traverse, for navigation in a whiteout, were all incorporated into the computerized Incident Action Plan.

Avalanche control experts and mountain guides from the Whistler ski resort offered their assistance in assessing the avalanche conditions and preparing for an alpine style rescue attempt should the weather clear.

Meanwhile high in the alpine the storm was raging. The embattled skiers began digging out their buried equipment, rebuilding their camp and rationing their remaining food and fuel. They ate just one meal of cold oatmeal for breakfast and only the cold alpine air for ‘dinner’ in the evening.

Outside their camp 50 to 60 centimeters of snow fell within 24 hours, greatly increasing the risk of an avalanche.

"Wind slabs were created, making the backcountry very susceptible to human-triggered avalanches," said Brad Sills of Whistler Search and Rescue. "The skiers were last spotted on Platform Glacier on Sunday, which is a heavily glaciated area with wide crevasses due to a low snowpack."

Friday 19th March 2004
On Friday morning search teams attempted to fly over the Spearhead Traverse and land at various locations, to assess the snow stability along the route. Unfortunately heavy clouds obscured most of the higher mountains and passes and, shortly after midday, all of the aerial searching was called off.

With the air searching halted search teams were then assigned to ground deployments at lower elevations, to examine the main exit routes out of the range, including the toe of the main glaciers.

Late on Friday afternoon the clouds parted briefly, permitting the helicopters to continue their searching. With little remaining fuel one of the helicopters found a gap in the cloud and began to search two high probability alpine passes. As they flew over the Tremor / Shudder Col they spotted two skiers below. Landing quickly they identified the pair as the missing skiers and rapidly bundled them into the helicopter. Once the area was clear a second helicopter landed and collected all of their equipment. As the clouds rolled back over the mountains the helicopters transported the skiers back to the Whistler town-site, to waiting friends and a host of local media.

"The hard part was the waiting in zero visibility and hearing the choppers overhead. We wanted to get out of there so bad, but we knew it was not the time to go anywhere," Finally when the clouds parted briefly and the helicopter landed. "I thought, 'Oh my God, it's blue sky and we are going home,'" Orr said.

Despite their six day ordeal neither skier suffered any significant injury, although both were thirsty and hungry. Their wise decision to stay put in their shelter and wait out the bad weather was a major factor in the eventual safe recovery.

Squamish Chief lit by floodlight as a climber is rescued from the top of the Zodiac Wall.

On November 30th 2003 a local rock climber ran into difficulties on the North Face of the Squamish Chief - one of the largest monolithic rock faces in North America.

The climber became stuck somewhere towards the top of the Zodiac Wall – a major eleven pitch rock climb. With the last remaining battery power he cellphoned his friends for help, then darkness fell and his cellphone quit.

Hiking in the dark they reached the top of the Squamish Chief by the standard trail and then attempted to work there way down through the forest towards the top of the Zodiac Wall. By 9:30 pm they realized they could not find their friend and decided it was time to call 911.

Squamish Search & Rescue quickly responded to the scene and began to mobilize search teams up the trail to the top of the Squamish Chief. The night was clear and starry, except for mist bands drifting across the rock face. There was hard icy snow on the ground and the temperature dropped to –7 Degrees C. There was a significant risk of slipping on the hard snow in the forest immediately above the ‘Chief’s massive rock walls.

Remembering that a movie crew were currently shooting in town Squamish Search & Rescue asked if it would be possible to use their floodlights to illuminate the face of the Zodiac Wall. The movie crew said yes and so their two powerful floodlights were brought to the local firehall where there was electrical power and a clear view of the Zodiac Wall.

Even with the rock face bathed in floodlights the search teams still could not find or make contact with the stranded climber. As the night grew colder the risk of hypothermia increased and it became clear that finding the stranded climber, treating him for hypothermia and conducting a rescue and evacuation was going to be a difficult task.

At 0030hrs on December 1st Lions Bay Search and Rescue were asked to provide additional support, providing planning resources, equipment and manpower. A heat-treat hypothermia kit was also brought to the Command Post, to be stationed in the forest above the Zodiac Wall.

At approximately 1:30am searchers found a groove in the hard snow, which appeared to have been made by a rope. Following the markings down towards the cliff edge voice contact was finally made with the climber, who was two pitches below the top of the wall. With the assistance of the climbers and the illumination from the floodlights he was safely brought up to the top of the cliff, where he was given additional clothing and a warm drink. Quickly recovering from his ordeal the climber was able to walk back up to the hiking trail unaided and then descended,with his friends and rescuers, back down to the trailhead parking lot.

Rutherford Creek Road and Rail Bridge washout, where two people drowned and two more are presumed drowned.

Record heavy rains deluged the Whistler - Pemberton region as major storm systems collided over British Columbia's Coast Mountains. Two people have drowned and two more are missing, presumed drowned, in rain swollen creeks.

Nearly 800 people were forced from their homes as heavy rains caused rapidly rising rivers in the towns of Squamish, Pemberton and Mount Currie, along British Columbia's Sea to Sky highway.

During the night of October 17th the road and rail bridges over Rutherford Creek, north of Whistler, were swept away by the raging torrent, causing two vehicles to plunge into the swollen creek, both with fatal consequences:

Daryl Stevenson was killed, along with his best friend Mike Benoit, in the early hours of Saturday morning when Benoit’s Volvo plunged into the raging waters of Rutherford Creek, after torrential rain and high water caused the road bridge to collapse.

A red Chevy Blazer, containing Ed Elliott, Casey Burnette and Jamie Burnette also plunged into the torrent. Only Casey Burnette managed to free himself from the SUV and swim to safety. As their vehicle filled with water, Jamie Burnette told his brother to calm down, take one last breath and swim out. The brothers, driving home from work in the dark, had just rounded a foggy corner and driven straight into the raging Rutherford Creek, which had knocked out a bridge. "I exited first. Immediately when I hit the water, I was in a spin cycle. Upside down, all around, I didn't know what was up, didn't know where I was going. It was dark," Casey Burnette told a news conference outside the Pemberton RCMP station. "I was fortunate. I took five or six breaths, I didn't know if I was above water or below, but I got enough air to carry me to shore. I ended up grabbing a branch and pulling myself to shore."

When Casey got to dry land, he tried to put some distance between himself and the river, but discovered that he was actually on a small island. He found a stump in a cluster of trees that he climbed, and waited there until the sun came up four hours later. His brother Jamie Burnette and Ed Elliott remain missing and are presumed drowned.

An RCMP dive team, Pemberton Search and Rescue and a helicopter went to the area shortly afterwards and began to search the swollen creek. They worked from sun-up to sun-down desperately hoping to find the two men and the Chevy Blazer that plunged into the creek.

After four days of searching the RCMP and Pemberton Search and Rescue announced that they would stand down their land and air search of the area. Experts determined that the likelihood of survival was low and the risk to rescue personnel was high. They had contacted the families of the missing men to inform them of the decision.

Three towns north of Vancouver, Squamish, Pemberton and Mount Currie, were hit the hardest by the weekend flooding:

Pemberton, about 75 miles north of Vancouver, was only accessible by helicopter, but workers from the Ministry of Transportation were working to establish temporary bridges in and out of the town.

Squamish, a city of 15,000 about 35 miles north of Vancouver, remained accessible by car. About 500 of Mount Currie's 1,700 residents were evacuated Saturday from their homes on the edge of the Lillooet River. The number of homes affected by flooding was not known but it was estimated that hundreds of homes in Squamish alone incurred at least some damage.

Provincial authorities set up emergency centers in Squamish and Pemberton, and 361 people had signed in at the Squamish center by Monday afternoon. Evacuees were also staying with friends and family or in local hotels.

Pemberton SAR, Squamish SAR, Lions Bay SAR, Whistler SAR, the Mennonite Disaster Service, The Salvation Army and the Canadian Red Cross and the Provincial Emergency Program all responded to the flood situation.

B.C.'s premier declares a State of Emergency as wild land fires rage across central British Columbia. Search & Rescue teams from the central and southern regions are called into active service.

In one of the longest and hottest summers in decades approximately 420 wild land fires, including major fires in Lost Creek, McLure-Barriere, Falkland, Salmon Arm, Chilko Lake and Rayleigh, British Columbia, caused approximately 8,000 residents to be evacuated from the danger areas. Approximately 2,000 volunteers, including many search and rescue teams, worked around the clock for almost a week to assist with the evacuation and to secure the fire-torn and fire-threatened areas, which totaled over 33,000 hectares (127 square miles).

Reception Centers for the evacuees were setup in Cache Creek, Kamloops, 100 Mile House and Williams Lake. Evacuation crews then attempted to remove as much threatened livestock as possible. In one reported case the local ambulance, the last responding vehicle inside the danger zone, left just as flying embers blew inside it’s crewcab.

The local SAR teams manned road checkpoints around the clock, checking permits and fielding questions from distressed citizens, while trying to maintain the delicate balance between public safety and the protection of property and livestock. As the Ministry of Forest’s Fire Protection Branch declared areas to be on one-hour evacuation notice, or to be evacuated immediately, local SAR teams, supported by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, assisted the public with the evacuation.

Barriere Search & Rescue was in a region that was completely evacuated while Vernon Search & Rescue, operating their Command Vehicle out of Salmon Arm, was the primary SAR team manning road blocks throughout the Yankee Flats and Falkland evacuation areas.

By the time the 10th operational period had been declared Vernon SAR had used the Search Manager Incident Command Software to create over 120 field assignments.

As local SAR teams became exhausted from numerous 12-hour shifts reinforcements were brought in from B.C.’s Lower Mainland SAR teams. In some cases the smoke obscured the sky to the extent that incoming flights of SAR volunteers had to be cancelled or delayed.

By the 7-8th August 2003 the areas threatened by fire gradually receded and the public were slowly let back into the fire-destroyed and evacuated areas. Many had lost their homes completely, while other homes were severely fire-damaged. A local wood mill had burnt down, putting 200 people out of work, there was frequently no power or running water and even the roadbeds had sustained damage from the fire. As utility crews struggled to restore services the homeowners began the difficult task of rebuilding their lives in the fire-ravaged communities.

Low clouds and heavy rain had shrouded Vancouver’s North Shore mountains for days, making navigation difficult for hikers on the Howe Sound Crest Trail. After a group of three hikers failed to return home from a 3-4 day trip, concerned family members asked the North Shore Rescue team to respond...

It quickly became apparent that the hikers could be anywhere along the Howe Sound Crest Trail, typically a long two-day hike, and so the Lions Bay Search & Rescue were also asked to provide assistance.

Command centers were quickly set up at the southern and central regions of the trail, by the North Shore Rescue at Cypress Bowl parking lot and at the Lions Bay SAR Base, respectively. Heavy cloud clung to the mountains and appeared to be descending throughout the day, making team deployments and searching by helicopter very limited.

The North Shore Rescue and Lions Bay Search & Rescue, like most SAR teams in the region, use the 'Incident Commander' software.

A Lions Bay SAR team member spotted two hikers in the village and quickly identified one of them as being from the party of three overdue hikers. Interviewing them indicated that the additional person was a lone hiker who stumbled into their camp at an emergency shelter while following the trail in the mist. The two remaining party members had apparently elected to continue their hike towards Cypress Bowl, however the late, 11am start, and poor visibility raised concerns that they would not reach this southern terminus of the trail before dark.

While this information was being relayed by satellite phone from Lions Bay SAR the North Shore Rescue reported that an injured hiker, possibly with a broken leg, was encamped somewhere along a trail in the region. A second helicopter, capable of a long-line rescue and additional ground SAR teams were quickly deployed to the field. The description of the injured hiker’s location was sketchy, as the reporting group had themselves become lost in the cloud-covered mountains before finding their way down to Lions Bay.

The search managers decided that the helicopters would be used to locate and evacuate the hiker if weather permitted, while ground SAR teams would be deployed towards to a number of potential campsites, described as being within site of the Lions Peaks and near a lake, in an attempt to find the injured hiker.

During the late afternoon the clouds slowly lifted off the mountain ridge and a search team was deployed onto the talus slopes below the West Lion peak. This team ran into the two remaining hikers from the first incident, who described more accurately the location of a tent they had seen near a lake. These hikers volunteered to assist the rescue team in their efforts to find the tent.

The clouds continued to lift towards evening and the campsite, with the injured hiker, was soon spotted. With the assistance of one of the helicopters, the hiker, who apparently had a swollen knee, but not a broken leg, and all of the field personnel, were quickly evacuated to Cypress Bowl.

An 89 year-old man was reported missing after wandering alone in the heavily wooded Campbell River Regional Park, British Columbia. His car had been found in the parking lot where he was known to regularly walk in the park. Heavy overnight rain, large areas of swamp and dense wet vegetation gave serious cause for concern that the subject might have succumbed to hypothermia.

Lions Bay SAR was called in to assist with the search after an overnight search by the initially response teams from Central Fraser Valley SAR, Surrey SAR and Ridge Meadows SAR had failed to locate the subject.

Networked computers running the 'Incident Commander' software were used in the command vehicle to both manage assignment planning and communications logging throughout the search.

A FLIR-equipped helicopter, three police dogs and numerous ground teams searched the park area throughout the morning. Additional SAR teams were called in from outlying regions, including Sunshine Coast SAR and the North Shore Rescue but, by midday, no clues had been found as to the subject's whereabouts.

Late in the afternoon the fourth SAR team into one of 25 defined search areas finally found footprints, which led them to the subject, almost hidden, lying in the swamp. He was alive but unconscious, after 26 hours in the wet swamp. His condition was determined by an ALS paramedic to be critical - his body temperature was 83 Deg F, with very slow respirations and no conscious response.

The subject was quickly wrapped in blankets, IV's were inserted and a trail blazed through the swamp to the closest trail. Once the patient was packaged he was then stretcher-carried out to a waiting ambulance.

Remarkably after treatment in hospital the subject was later discharged without having suffered any serious long-term harm.

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