The Everyday Heroes Behind Santa Barbara’s Most Dangerous Wilderness Rescues

By Giving List Staff   |   November 4, 2024
Rope rescue training at Lizards Mouth, Santa Barbara County.

A hiker in Santa Barbara’s wilderness hasn’t returned home, a biker crashes off the trail, a runner collapses from dehydration, or a brush fire traps a group. The 911 call can come at any time – during the dead of night, family BBQ, or while unloading groceries in the driveway.

Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue Team was established as an all-volunteer, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, serving law enforcement, fire rescue, and emergency services in Santa Barbara County and the surrounding county by mutual aid request.

When these emergencies unfold in Santa Barbara County’s backcountry, it’s the highly trained, dedicated volunteers from Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue (SBCSAR), that respond at any hour or condition.

“When someone’s lost or stranded, it’s us who answers the call – just us, nobody else. We’re volunteers, not paid professionals, but we have the experience and the equipment to get the job done,” says Jennifer Beyer, a member of the search and rescue team.

Operating entirely on donations, these volunteers – teachers, nurses, contractors, retirees, professionals, educators, engineers, and former law enforcement – fill an urgent need in the county’s emergency services. 

Under the direction of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, SBCSAR handles specialized rescue missions and wildfire evacuations that require cliff or swiftwater rescues, avalanche responses, and medical aid. They are equipped with off-road vehicles, mountain bikes, rope systems, stretchers, and drones. The team also manages specialized vehicles and assists with helicopter operations.

Their capabilities extend beyond traditional search and rescue. They act as incident commanders, coordinating emergency responses across agencies. Additionally, they support Project Lifesaver, helping locate individuals with cognitive disorders who go missing.

To maintain this level of readiness, the team dedicates over 10,000 hours annually to rigorous training. Volunteers master a wide range of technical skills, from complex rope systems to advanced medical response to wilderness tracking, ensuring they are fully prepared for any life-saving scenario.

“We’re like a specialized extension of the Sheriff’s Department – just not paid,” says a veteran team member. “We have the training, skills, and equipment to get the job done that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the county.”

In 2023, the team responded to 95 calls, dedicating over 2,000 hours to search and rescue efforts that aided 83 individuals. The team’s effectiveness stems from extensive training, specialized equipment, and a coordinated approach.

When a call comes in it initiates a well-organized operation, the team says. Rapid response units conduct initial searches, while other members plan more extensive actions, considering various scenarios if initial efforts don’t succeed. The process relies on careful coordination among team members, resources, and partner organizations.

The volunteers have seen it all, from reviving a person found face down in a muddy field to guiding stranded hikers safely off precarious ledges. “We found the person face down in the mud and brought him to the ambulance,” Beyer says. “We saved this gentleman’s life, and that is extremely rewarding.”

It’s the quiet moments – reuniting a lost person with their family, hearing a simple “thank you” – that underlines the importance of their work. These moments remind the volunteers why they do what they do, bringing them back time and again, ready for whatever comes next.

 

Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue

Donate now!

sbcsar.net
Development Chair: Bruce Hickey
(805) 319-1399

Mission

To provide critical assistance and support during any search and rescue operation.

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We know you care about where your money goes and how it is used. Connect with this organization’s leadership in order to begin to build this important relationship. Your email will be sent directly to this organization’s director of development and/or Executive Director.

Direct Relief is a support organization to organizations nationally and globally, but it is a particular privilege for Direct Relief to support the critical work of Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue and the unpaid volunteer members who do that work in our organizations’ shared home. SBCSAR epitomizes the finest traditions of the concept of public service. The members’ qualifications result from hard work and constant training. They are on-call 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, and deploy whenever someone is hurt, lost, missing, or otherwise in need. They do whatever is necessary, wherever the location, to find and bring a person to safety. This type of selfless public service is rare, and it’s why any philanthropic support for SBCSAR is well spent.
Thomas Tighe
President and CEO, Direct Relief

Answering the Call: Support Santa Barbara’s Lifesaving Volunteers

Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue (SBCSAR) is the lifeline for those in need across our rugged backcountry. 

They need to raise $250,000 annually to keep this critical, life-saving community service running.

Your donation will directly support their ability to respond quickly and effectively:

    •$7,500 funds essential rope rescue equipment for high-angle and cliff rescues.

    •$18,000 provides a drone for aerial search operations, expanding their ability to locate missing persons quickly.

    •$33,000 supports comprehensive training for rescue members, ensuring they are prepared for any situation.

    •$150,000 provides the team with a fully equipped “rescue” vehicle for emergency response.

    •$16,000 provides insurance and medical resources for the team’s K9 responders.

    •$22,000 for search management tools and communication equipment.

Your contribution helps ensure that SBCSAR remains ready to save and serve the community whenever the call comes in.

Key Supporters

Wood Claeyssens Foundation
Direct Relief
One805
Blackbaud Giving Fund
Bragg Foundation
Santa Barbara Foundation
JM Lazarus Foundation
Hutton Parker Foundation