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Air rescues and dive unit could be cut with new King County budget

By Amy Clancy
By Amy Clancy

A proposed King County budget cut could leave air rescues and the marine dive unit completely unfunded as of January.

Members of the county’s Search and Rescue team said the cuts would put lives at risk.

King County’s Guardian 2 helicopter often rescues hikers or skiers at mountain passes.

In February, Guardian 2 rescued a man near Enumclaw. In November, the helicopter helped in the search for a hiker missing near Duvall. Last June 26, King County Sheriff’s Air Support helped with a Mercer Island water rescue.

Search volunteers said the search helicopters look for more than just stranded hikers and skiers.

“Guardian 1 searches for lost, injured and deceased subjects, they fly above us looking for walkaway subjects with Alzheimer’s, dementia and autism, and this means our searches will sometimes be shorter and we can get people back to the families or medical care sooner,” an email to volunteers said. “We also know that while we do work with other helicopter crews, there’s no guarantee those resources will be available when we need them, as they are coming from outside our county and possibly through different weather.”

“There are no specific cuts on the table yet, but the fact is there’s not enough money to do next year what we were able to do this year,” King County Executive Dow Constantine said.

Below is the full text of an email sent April 11 to King County Search and Rescue volunteers:

As part of the 2017/2018 budget planning cycle, King County has identified a $50M shortfall. Cuts were given to some county departments, including a $3.8M cut to the sheriff’s office. Of the many critical impacts from these cuts, two important programs will be completely unfunded as of January 2017: the Air Support Unit (ASU) both SAR & patrol flights, and the Marine Rescue Dive Unit (MRDU).

I wanted you to know that, as private citizens, and taxpayers, it is absolutely OK for you to make your voices heard about the impact of these cuts: through your friends, families and co-workers, through social media, email or on the trails.

Details of the elected officials you can contact are included at the end of this email.

You and I know we rely on the helicopters and crews to help us save lives. Josh Hancock, a subject we rescued in December 2014, would have been at grave risk if we didn't have Guardian 2 right there to transport him directly to the hospital.

You also know that being able to transport injured subjects by helicopter can reduce the risk to our volunteers because we don't need to put as many people into the field for a carry out, and because we don't need to spend as much time out in the field dealing with changing weather conditions. It is also good to know that if one of us needs urgent medical assistance in the field, the helicopter could be our lifeline as well.

But that is not the only way the helicopter crews help us: Guardian 1 searches for lost, injured and deceased subjects, they fly above us looking for walkaway subjects with Alzheimer's, dementia and autism, and this means our searches will sometimes be shorter and we can get people back to the families or medical care sooner. We also know that while we do work with other helicopter crews, there's no guarantee those resources will be available when we need them, as they are coming from outside our county and possibly through different weather.

King County Search Dogs trains and assists MRDU on recovery missions. That capability will be eliminated if MRDU is unfunded. Of course, I don’t need to tell you that we are not the primary responders to water rescue missions, so there’s no backup plan for lake or river rescues if MRDU is disbanded.

These budget cuts will put lives at risk.

Sheriff John Urquhart is also greatly disappointed by yet another round of budget cuts impacting the sheriff's office. There are impacts beyond search and rescue.

This email is not a political statement, and not a lobbying effort. As president of King County Search and Rescue Association, I have a responsibility to you to let you know what is happening, and to let the public know about the impact of these decisions: the increased risk to subjects and volunteers. As this becomes a topic of discussion in the media, we will definitely speak up about the potential impacts. We will also seek out meetings with our elected officials.

The appropriate elected officials to contact are the County Executive and the Council Members. I've listed their contact information below.

Note: I am aware that Council Members Kathy Lambert (District 3) and Reagan Dunn (District 9) do not support these cuts to ASU and MRDU; we have not yet spoken with the other elected officials.

Please be brief, respectful and to the point. If you do identify yourself as being part of Search and Rescue, please be clear that you are a volunteer.

Dow Constantine (King County Executive) kcexec@kingcounty.gov 206-263-9600

Rod Dembowski (District 1) rod.dembowski@kingcounty.gov   206-477-1001

Larry Gossett (District 2) Larry.Gossett@kingcounty.gov  206-477-1002

Kathy Lambert (District 3) kathy.lambert@kingcounty.gov 206-477-1003

Jeanne Kohl-Welles (District 4) jeanne.kohl-welles@kingcounty.gov 206-477-1004

Dave Upthegrove (District 5) Dave.Upthegrove@kingcounty.gov  206-477-1005

Claudia Balducci (District 6) claudia.balducci@kingcounty.gov 206-477-1006

Pete von Reichbauer (District 7) Pete.vonReichbauer@kingcounty.gov   206-477-1007

Joe McDermott (District 8) joe.mcdermott@kingcounty.gov   206-477-1008

Reagan Dunn (District 9) reagan.dunn@kingcounty.gov   206-477-1009

Please feel free to contact me, Mike Morelli (vice president), Larry Colagiovanni (PIO) or your unit leadership if you have questions.

Glenn Wallace

President

King County [Search and Rescue Association]

Cox Media Group

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