El Dorado County Search and Rescue calls down - are people safer or technology better?

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office (EDSO) has seen a steady decrease in some calls for search and rescue (SAR) of recreationists in the county since 2017, could it be a safer public or better technology that has caused this? Or, are there fewer people getting into the backcountry?

Prior to 2017, there were 120 or more SAR calls a year, with 123 in 2017, then an average of 77 incidents per year since then.

The El Dorado County Office of Emergency Services (OES) is attributing this to advancements in cell phone technology. EDSO Lt. Michael Lensing said the majority of the incidents that they respond to now are people calling in with medical aid requests, and not lost, or search requests. Prior to that, SAR sent out full teams as they did not always know what type of incident they were responding to.

In 2022, SAR responded to 27 calls for search, 26 calls for rescue, 17 calls for medical aid, 3 for recovery, and 2 due to Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) being activated.

Deputies can reach some of those calling in for medical care without the SAR team needing to respond, depending on how far back in the wilderness the victim is located, and the type of injury they've suffered. When a rescue occurs without the search portion, fewer resources are required and full SAR teams are not needed to deploy.

When South Tahoe Now did a story on an increase in SAR calls in the fall of 2017, staff and volunteers responded to 22 calls between September 1 and October 30, 2017, while they responded to 12 incidents during the same period the prior year. At that time, EDSO said they were seeing a high percentage of calls involving inexperience and people not being prepared,

During COVID-19 restrictions and protocols, SAR observed more people were staying closer to a highway or road, and just getting some outdoor experiences.

It is unclear if fewer SAR calls are related to fewer backcountry and day-use permits issued by the forest service, or a coincidence.

Data from the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) shows fewer people obtaining day-use and overnight permits to go into Desolation Wilderness from both ends of El Dorado County, much could be attributed to the Caldor Fire devastation.

Since 2019 there have been fewer day-use permits issued by the USFS Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) for Lake Tahoe Basin trailheads (Eagle Falls, Bayview, Echo Lakes, Meeks, Tallac, Glen Alpine). In 2019 there were 82,211 permits issued for day use in these areas, and in 2022 that was down the 42,828 plus about 313 permits for Echo Lakes.

This does not account for people accessing those areas without a permit.

Backcountry permits issued for Desolation Wilderness through recreation.gov:

Year-# of Permits-# of Visitors
2019--11,369--34,290
2020--19,428--59,518
2021--16,224--51,228
2022--14,149--43,298

This data is based on the permits requested, but there is no way to know if the people actually showed up, canceled due to smoke, couldn't use when fire danger was high, or the forest was closed due to active fire.

In 2020 and 2021 there were no day-use permits required by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) in Desolation Wilderness in the Eldorado National Forest (west slope). USFS in the Eldorado National Forest day-use permits issued for Desolation in 2018, 2019, 2022:

Loon Lake - 1186 people, 395.3 average, 419 permits, 139.7 average
Lyons Creek - 2975 people, 991.7 average, 1529 permits, 509.7 average
Pyramid Creek - 14,124 people, 4708 average, 5279 permits, 1759.7 average
Ralston - 4022 people, 1340.7 average, 2057 permits, 685.7 average
Rockbound - 1298 people, 432.7 average, 880 permits, 293.3 average
Twin Lakes - 10,697 people, 3565.7 average, 4130 permits, 1376.7 average
Van Vleck - 633 people, 211.0 average, 268 permits, 89.3 average

When going into the backcountry the same words of safety from 2017 are still valid today:

Be prepared.
Have a plan and stick to it.
Inform someone of the plan and what to do if you are overdue.
Take a charged cell phone and do not use it unless it's an emergency. So many stranded hikers are found because of the cell's signal.
Have a light source and the most recommended is a headlamp.
Take a layer of clothing and items for comfort like bug repellent or any required medications.
If cold temperatures are in the forecast, take something to build a fire in case of an emergency only. Fire can be the difference between life and death and can be an attractant.
If lost, stay calm and stay put.