March 15/16, 2010                                         Sawtelle      

Around 10:37 PM Monday Night, 19 Fremont County Search and Rescue members responded to assist 3 Utah snowmobilers who became stuck in a snowy drainage, on the North East side of Sawtelle Peak. A 46 year old man, his 15 year old son, and a 27 year old man, were snowmobiling Monday evening, when they dropped down into a drainage. Due to poor snow conditions, their snowmobiles became stuck and they were unable to make it back out.  Search Commander, Brett Mackert, established cell phone communication and after gleaning information pertinent to the Search, he suggested that the father call 911 in an attempt to acquire the Global Positioning System (GPS) Coordinates, from the County’s 911 System. When that did not work, the Father was instructed to set off the 911 feature on a Spot Personal GPS Tracker, that they had with them. A 12 member Primary Search Team was constructed and equipped with Avalanche ABS Backpacks, beacons, probes, shovels; First Aid Kits, GPS, Compasses, Snowshoes, Walking Poles, and 2 Way Radios. A Backup Search Team was placed on standby at base camp. Under the guidance of the Search Commander, the Primary Search Team navigated a suitable route to the immediate vicinity of the three individuals. At that point the team separated. 2 Search & Rescue members rode their sleds within 150 feet of the stuck snowmobilers, while the other 10 members gathered wood and started a fire.  At 2:30AM a visual confirmation was made on the subjects’ snowmobile head lights and the two Searchers walked towards them. At 2:35AM voice contact was established and within five minutes the two Search members had reached the 3 individuals. After a thorough assessment, all seemed to be in good condition. The snow had set up so the Search Members helped free the stuck snowmobiles and the 3 attempted to ride them out. After nearly an hour and a half of trying and failing to navigate out of the drainage, the Search & Rescue Members drove the subjects’ sleds up to where the Search & Rescue snowmobiles were. At 5:00AM, everyone was packed up and ready to ride out to Red Rock Road. Some of unit snowmobiles were overheating due to snow surface being frozen and so hard that it could barely be scratched; consequently, the snow didn’t effectively lubricate the track.  Several Hyfax Runners melted on the way back, which prolonged the arrival to Base Camp. The Search & Rescue Members returned to town, fueled, and stowed the equipment in preparation for the next call. All clear at 7:45AM.

March 17, 2010                              Newdale

Shortly after 5:00 P.M., Fremont County Search and Rescue was called out to assist South Fremont County Fire Department with an emergency in Newdale, Idaho at the General Mills Elevators.  An employee at the elevators became trapped and partially buried in a silo full of barley while unclogging the bin as the bin was being unloaded.  His partner, unable to recover him, called 911.

Holes were cut on the bottom of the silo to release grain in an effort to speed the recovery.  Search and Rescue members, South Fremont County Fire Department members, and numerous volunteers crawled inside the silo to shovel grain out the holes in a relay. A sweep auger and grain vacuum were later used in the recovery.  Fremont County Emergency Services responded with the boom light trailer.

South Fremont County Fire Department, Fremont County Search and Rescue, Fremont County Sheriff officers, Fremont County Ambulance, Fremont County Emergency Services Coordinator, Madison County Fire Department, Madison County Ambulance, and numerous volunteers responded.

FCS&R would like to caution all farmers to have necessary equipment required for entry into a silo, including ropes and harnesses so these circumstances do not happen again.  Operations or actions of this nature need eyes on monitoring at all times.

FCS&R expresses sympathy and understanding to the gentleman’s friends and family.  They would also like to thank all individuals who responded to assist with the situation.  Collaboration between agencies and volunteers was noted and appreciated.

April 3, 2010

Three snowmobile enthusiasts from Rigby braved Easter weekend blizzards to ride the Black Canyon Trail in Island Park.  Strong winds and heavy snowfall left 6-10 foot drifts in open areas of the trail.  All three snowmobiles eventually became stuck between heavy drifts, and the party was able to free only one machine.  Realizing they required assistance to get out, they called 911, and Fremont Sheriff’s Office notified Fremont County Search and Rescue. One member of the party had ridden to the Big Springs Warming Hut to wait, and the other two, realizing they could not free their machines, began walking down the trail, maintaining contact with rescue members by cell phone.  At 4:00 p.m., Unit members headed toward Island Park battling slick roads, poor visibility, and high winds.  After gearing up with avalanche equipment, Rescue members rode machines and met up with the walking party, helped free their machines, and everyone headed back safely to the warming hut.  No one was injured, and party members were well prepared to stay the night had it become necessary.   Rescue members arrived home around 10:00