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SAN RAFAEL SWELL, Emery County — Rescue operations in Utah can be so complex they even inspire Hollywood movies.
That's why rescue crews have to stay on top of their game, and they do it by training.
Last month a pair of Utah filmmakers were on hand when the Emery County Sheriff's Office and Utah National Guard teamed up for a training exercise in the San Rafael Swell, and their cameras captured some incredible angles of a very dangerous job.
"These guys, they get stuck with some pretty bad stuff," said Dustin Carlson, a Carbon County Search and Rescue member and filmmaker with Every Angle Films.
"People come from all over the place to go canyoneering, hiking, biking. … And they get lost."
People can get lost, stranded or even stuck in some of Utah's vast eastern counties.
The story of Aron Ralston inspired the movie "127 Hours".
Ralston fell in a slot canyon and got his arm stuck between the canyon and a boulder. He eventually cut off his own arm to get to safety.
That's an extreme example, but rescuers know they could be up against anything when they get a call for help.
"It doesn't happen every day," Carlson said, "but if it happens, they want to be ready."
"Operation Spiderman" was a high-angle rescue training the teams went out to perform in April. Every Angle Films went along with its drone and cameras.
Its new video gives everyone a good look at the dangerous terrain rescuers can face.
Some rescues require a rescuer being sent on a vertical rope to the middle of a massive canyon, and then lowered down to where an injured hiker might be. Other rescue work isn't quite as extreme but is still as technical.
Rescuers like Carlson are determined to get victims out safely, but they also have to think about themselves.
"As soon as a rescuer gets hurt, you've got one more patient," Carlson said.
Rescues during last month's training were scaled back a bit because of strong winds, but those same winds made for another unique opportunity.
Instead of sending a rescuer out into the middle of the canyon, they sent a large American flag out instead while a member of the Emery County Sheriff's Office, detective Jerod Curtis, sang "God Bless America".
Contributing: Dave McCann
Keira Farrimond is the senior producer for KSL 5 News at 10. Contact her at kfarrimond@ksl.com.
