Search and Rescue in Northwest Arkansas by Mark Morales

A discussion of Interagency Search and Rescue (SAR) efforts . The focus will be on the Big Piney Ranger District, and the newly formed Tri-County SAR group of Madison, Carroll, and Newton counties in Arkansas. Agencies involved in the group are the County Sheriffs, Carroll County Mennonite Disaster Services, Arkansas Forestry Commission, and the U.S. Forest Service.

Transcript

1. Search and Rescue (SAR) Operations in the Ozark Mountains of Northwest Arkansas.
2. • County Sheriff is responsible for SAR, regardless of ownership. • May have SAR teams managed by their county Office of Emergency Management. • Majority of SAR team members are volunteers, often volunteer fire department members. • Many have little formal training.
3. Big Piney Ranger District • Approx. 500,000 ac. on the Ozark National Forest. • Land in Madison, Newton, Searcy, Van Buren, Conway, Pope, and Johnson Counties. • Four Wilderness Areas, including the Upper Buffalo and Richland CreeK. • Big Piney Creek – Wild and Scenic River
4. Big Piney SAR History • Started formally following the Haley Zega search in April of 2001. • Currently have 20 employees certified as SAR Tech III by National Association of Search and Rescue (NASAR) standards. • MOU’s with the Newton and Pope County Sheriff’s. • Involved with several high profile SAR missions. • Received Emergency Response awards from the Forest Supervisor and Regional Forester. • Attorney Generals Award • Assisting Agency for Tri-County SAR. (Madison, Newton, Carroll)
5. Landen SAR 09/12/2012
6. Tri-County SAR • Started following the Landen SAR. • Arkansas Forestry Commission (AFC) made the decision to get formally involved with SAR. • Three Counties agreed to pool resources, and a 501 (C) 3 organization was formed. • Mennonite Disaster Services from Berryville involved through Carroll County. • Arkansas Tech student working on GIS and SAR operations thesis – utilizing MapSAR. • Recent week-end assisted with three SAR missions.