Upper Valley Search & Rescue

Yakima County Washington

Information about UVSAR

UVSAR is a growing active member group of the Yakima SAR Council. The true strength of the UVSAR unit lies in the diversity of its members. This well rounded unit provides ground teams, tracking teams, amateur radio operators, staff for the Rescue Command Center (RCC) and Mobile Command Post (MCP), 4x4 vehicles, and Basic Life Support personnel at the Emergency Medical Technician and First Responder levels. All members are expected to have 24 and 48 hours packs to include bivouac capability. Many members have their own snowshoes and enjoy winter camping and solving low angle rope rescue problems.

The unit also provides instructors for Council classes, personnel for evidence searches, and support for community health and welfare activities. Members are encouraged to explore and draw from the many facets of emergency response; for example, several are Washington Pilots Association (WPA) Search pilots crossing over for ground missions. We also have several air observers to support WPA, Amateur "Ham" radio operators, snow mobile owners, a growing number of dog handlers, and a substantial number of volunteer fire fighters.

Our members also enjoy sharing quality experiences and food around a good bonfire with our families