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AUGUST 10, 2012 Vol. 117, Issue 154
110
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Page 3
INCLUDING H.S.T.
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF
ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALM SALMO
Busy year for Search and Rescue crews
HIGH HEAT
Missing teen found BY TIMOTHY SCHAFER Times Staff
BY TIMOTHY SCHAFER Times Staff
It has been one of the busiest years on record for the South Columbia Search and Rescue unit. With 14 major rescues and recoveries coming into the Greater Trail-based unit this year, all aspects of the 34-man team have been tested, including the brand new canine unit. South Columbia “High water president Ron Medland has played a said there have been nearly double the normal huge role.” amount of calls this year for rescue services, and RON MEDLAND the severity of the calls has intensified. Already the number of calls have exceeded what would be an average year, around 10 calls. Medland said the call volume and intensity rivals 2010 when the water was also high. “Again, it was high water … and it was people not being careful,” he said. “High water has played a huge role.” Michelle Huber and Janine Issel and their dogs were in Johnsons Landing during the search for people trapped in the massive landslide that took place three weeks ago. “It was a great opportunity to put them to the test but it was pretty scary walking around on that slide,” he said. Every major news story of note relating the environment in the West Kootenay has involved parts of the South Columbia unit. In June they had the swift water rescue team in Crawford Bay. Local officials were worried about a dyke breaking and flooding out a campsite when water began to rise in the area. Prior to that the same team was called in for a recovery of a man who died in the raging waters of Pass Creek.
TIMOTHY SCHAFER PHOTO
The intense Kootenay heat has split roofer Al Beebe’s day into two three-hour shifts as he worked on this steep roof on a house in the Gulch. With an early morning and evening shift, Beebe’s Bronzeman Contracting was able to pull the job off in three weeks, nearly double the time it would have otherwise taken.
See TEAM, Page 3
Weather hinders recreation in Pend d’Oreille
BY BREANNE MASSEY Times Staff
One of the region’s favourite campsites is slated to remain closed until investigations about a recent landslide have been completed. A total of 10 sites in Buckley’s Campground southeast of Trail were evacuated more than two weeks ago after a contract-
or noticed “instability” in an area of land that sloped toward the campsite. He immediately notified the campground manager about the changes and it triggered a fast response: campsite closure. Although a closure had never happened at the campground before, said BC Hydro spokesperson Dag
Sharman, the timing of the closure—before the August long weekend—couldn’t have been worse. But Mother Nature was the culprit, not the manmade structures in the area. A total of 22 campsites were unavailable during the B.C. long weekend. “The issue was a result of extreme rain—it had noth-
ing to do reservoirs,” he said. A geotechnical report has been issued and the closure will remain in effect until further notice. And BC Hydro expects to receive in-depth analysis from the report, allowing the area to undergo stabilization. According to the latest river report, the Columbia
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River has come down another two feet—and three feet last week—from its high of approximately 215,000 cubic feet per second on July 22 from the Hugh Keenleyside Dam. “We were waiting for a thorough geotechnical analysis to determine whether it was safe to allow
See RAIN, Page 3
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The girl that spurred ground searches and police investigations across the West Kootenay has been located. Morgan Durocher, 14, of Nelson has been located in a north Okanagan community, after police successfully followed up several leads. The girl—reported missing 11 days ago before “voluntarily” leaving her Warfield foster July 30—was found Thursday morning by Enderby RCMP. “She did not turn herself in. Morgan Durocher was located, unharmed, with her boyfriend in Enderby,” confirmed Trail RCMP detachment Sgt. Rob Hawton. With Durocher having a history of running away, Hawton could not speculate on how she would be dealt with as a future risk to run, or where she would be returned. Because she was a young person and had now been found, he was not at liberty to disclose any details.
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