Mounted search and rescue

["IRVIN LICHTENSTEIN" <ilichten1@verizon.net>]

I am not sure what is worse, extreme swings in weather or a long period of one kind or another. Deserts don’t hold heat at night so you get extreme swings from sun up to sundown.  We get 3-10 day periods of over 90F with 90% plus humidity and some elderly people dead at home with no A/C, 20-30 degree drops at night in the forests, or no drop at night at all.  A lot of our recreational areas have lakes or rivers in them and that may moderate the heat but not the humidity.  In the winter the water freezes so the dive teams/ice rescue are busy on every farm pond and puddle.  And when it finally gets above freezing and everything melts………

Worst job we ever went on started at over 110F and didn’t get down to 90F until hours after sundown, with no air movement in a forest.

One of the state transportation officials once said (approximately),” If it only would freeze and stay frozen we could fix the potholes.”

Irv

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From: msar-riders-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:msar-riders-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of pennbo@verizon.net
Sent: Monday, June 08, 2009 12:10 AM
To: msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Re: [MSAR] what to wear?

 

Unfortunately we have searched in temps like that as well- search early, search late, rest in the middle. Because we can be called to the Mojave Desert to search we train there as well. Our gear has to include cold weather and broiling hot weather gear too. For those of you unfamiliar with my area San Bernardino county is the largest county in the US- bigger than many states. We range from the desert with it's weather extremes to almost 12,000 foot peaks. It includes wooded wilderness, rocky wilderness, and desert wilderness. Most of the county is localized urban areas surrounded by miles of open space but just so we keep in practice with all eventualities the southern part stretching across the width is all seriously urban! We can be called anywhere in the county. It presents some special challenges to be prepared for all of it! :-)  I keep several ready packs- one for lowlands and one for highlands!

Chris



Jun 7, 2009 10:29:34 PM, Jorene@CEOates.com wrote:

Linda mentioned “40 degree heat” in her part of Western Australia, and I wanted to convert for those of us using Fahrenheit: 104

Some of us in hotter weather face extra challenges, just as those in colder weather do.  My own county may have a  serious heat wave in the valley – at times we have a declared emergency / disaster due to severe heat - or a blizzard in the mountains.

The hottest MSAR response I can recall was about a dozen years ago, down in the main valley. It was 118 F (47.7 C) and  the riders were sent home after lunch each day,