A volunteer with the North Peace Search and Rescue team would rather not have to do his job. He says a little planning can greatly reduce the chance of hunters and hikers needing his services.

“The goal of search and rescue is to rescue people when they are in need, but also to educate the public around how to avoid getting into those circumstances in the first place,” said Conrad Thiessen, a volunteer with the North Peace Search and Rescue unit.

He has been doing it for just over two years now, working with an entirely volunteer group of about 30 people.

They cover a huge area from the Peace River north to Sikanni River, stretching from the Alberta border west to Mount Bertha, helping everyone from hikers to hunters, and others, to find their way home.

The lean funding they receive, mostly covering the cost of equipment replacement, is covered under the Provincial Emergency Plan and they are called into action by the RCMP.

Thiessen noted that the use of all terrain vehicles (ATVs) seems to be a common theme in locating people lost in the back country.

“There are a number of issues surrounding ATVs but they are not hunting specific, they are ATV specific. People are going out not wearing helmets, traveling too fast, those kinds of things. When they leave their ATV people can forget where they left it, they can get disoriented and lost basically,” he said.

He said some planning and basic tools can reduce the chances of getting lost.

“Things they should think about is having maps, compasses, a GPS unit if possible, as well as having communication with other people as to where they are going and when they will be back.

“If they do go missing, people would know when to start looking and where to start looking, that is key to search and rescue. If we have an enormous search area it is a daunting task and it is less likely that we are going to find somebody,” Thiessen said.

“In time for them to be alive even, in some cases.”

Thiessen listed off some other tools that can help.

“A backpack that has essential survival items like a space blanket, fire starters, food and water. In some places there will be cell phone reception, so a cell phone might be a good thing to have. Not many people have satellite phones but, if they are in a really remote area, that is not a bad idea. Personal locator beacons are a good idea as well and a change of clothes.”

People venturing out into the wilderness have to understand that with an all-volunteer service, it takes additional time to get mobilized and begin the search, he pointed out.

“When you have a small team – and we are all volunteers – only a portion of those people are going to be available for a given call out.”

The next full training program to become a search and rescue volunteer will be starting in the new year but it's no walk in the park.

“It is pretty intensive actually. It is three hours a night for a week and the weekends on either end. It covers maps and compasses, winter survival, search grid patterns, the process behind search and rescue and how the different steps work,” he explained.

“Even before the real training starts people can come to the meetings. They can get an idea of what it is about and the kind of commitment required,” he added.

Meetings are held on the first and third Wednesdays of each month for people interested in learning more. The next one will run Sept. 15 at 7 p.m. at the City's Public Works building south of the Alaska Highway at 10303 Cree Road.

For more information contact training co-ordinator Al Hobler at 250-787-3269.

For more information on reducing the chances of needing a search and rescue team visit www.adventuresmart.ca.