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ST. GEORGE — With spring in full swing in the wake of a mild winter, rescue numbers have risen throughout Washington County and in Zion National Park.
The number of rescues the teams are dealing with are up, Washington County Emergency Operations Manager Jason Whipple said, adding, “such a mild winter we never really had the lull that we normally see. There were people out there all winter long.”
Officials at Zion National Park said they are seeing a similar trend, as the number of rescues in recent years has continued to climb, along with the number of visitors to the park, Zion National Park spokesman John Marciano said in a statement released last week.
Marciano commented on a search conducted March 17 which serves as a good example of a “preventable incident,” he said, and how being prepared can literally mean the difference between life and death.
The Zion search and rescue team, along with partners from the Rockville-Springdale Fire District, were called out the night of March 17 for what became a lifesaving event.
A team of 15 rescuers and EMS personnel responded to calls for help coming from the Pine Creek slot canyon, where eight hikers who were wet, borderline hypothermic and too tired to continue began yelling for help.
After making it through approximately half of the technical slot canyon, six of the group became stranded while two of the members were able to hike out and go for help.
Rescuers realized after reaching the group that they were “poorly equipped for canyoneering at this time of year,” Marciano said, and had inadequate footwear, gloves and clothing, including thin “farmer John” wet suits used to traverse the ice-cold pools of water in the slot instead of insulated dry suits capable of protecting them from the cold.
To complicate matters, Marciano said, a heavy snow storm rolled into the area, bringing with it sub-freezing temperatures that caused a flash flood, which added to the risk of hypothermia.
Working through the night under arduous conditions, each stranded hiker was pulled from the slot canyon by rescue teams using ropes and pulleys.
“You can imagine how cold this group was,” Marciano said, “given the time of year, the drop in temperature, the blizzard-like conditions and not being prepared.”
In 2015 Zion search and rescue teams were called on 103 rescues, Zion Chief Park Ranger Daniel Fagergren said, with a slight increase in 2016 to 105. 2017 was a record-breaking year with 114 rescue operations completed.
Read the full article at St. George News.
