SAR Teams Assist Los Angeles Fires
The January fires in Los Angeles, particularly the Palisades and Eaton fires, had huge impacts on local Mountain Rescue Teams in the area. Altadena Mountain Rescue, Malibu Search and Rescue and Sierra Madre Search and Rescue all dealt with fires in their immediate area, and some had members’ own homes destroyed in the fires. Many of the eight Los Angeles county teams, along with Ventura and San Diego County teams, assisted in evacuations as well as search and recovery efforts in the aftermath. Sierra Madre SAR noted on social media that they worked in the Emergency Operations Center, provided incident management support and joined USAR teams to search burned homes for mission people. Malibu SAR assisted with evacuations and did welfare checks. Altadena and Sierra Madre both had team members who were directly impacted by the fires, and fundraising sites have been set up to support those members in rebuilding.
Sierra Madre Fundraiser for team member Collin Davis. Fundraising site here.
Altadena SAR fundraising site for three members who lost homes. Fundraising site here.
California 2025 Reaccreditations Held
The California Region held its first split reaccreditation this year, with nine Northern California teams hosted by BAMRU in San Mateo County for Tracking and Management on March 8, and 16 Southern California teams hosted by Santa Barbara County on March 15. With 23 teams in California, finding locations to host that many people, along with weather and logistics issues, meant that splitting the state geographically made sense for teams. It reduced travel time and made it possible for the tests to take place in new venues. Northern California teams were in Huddard Park and surrounding areas in San Mateo County and Southern California teams were in the Santa Ynez Valley.
Ventura County SAR team members work a tracking problem at the reaccreditation in March.
OSHA Emergency Response Rule
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s proposed update to the Fire Brigade Standard is likely to exclude volunteer first responders, according to the most recent update from OSHA. Additionally, President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 Executive Order of Regulatory Freeze Pending Review effectively stops the OSHA Emergency Response Standard from moving forward until it is reviewed and approved by a department or agency head appointed by the president.
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