Introduction
There is no published information on the epidemiology of wilderness rescues in California
outside of national parks. The objective of this study was to investigate the epidemiology
of wilderness search and rescue (SAR) missions in California and identify risk factors
for individuals requiring rescue due to accidental injury, illness, or navigation
errors in the California wilderness.
Methods
A retrospective review of SAR missions in California from 2018 to 2020 was conducted.
This was done from a database of information collected by the California Office of
Emergency Services and the Mountain Rescue Association from SAR teams, who submitted
voluntarily. The subject demographics, activity, location, and outcomes of each mission
were analyzed.
Results
Eighty percent of the initial data were excluded because of incomplete or inaccurate
data. Seven hundred forty-eight SAR missions involving 952 subjects were included
in the study. The demographics, activities, and injuries of our population were consistent
with those reported from other epidemiological SAR studies, and there were significant
differences in outcomes based on the subject’s activity. For example, water activities
were highly correlated with a fatal outcome.
Conclusions
The final data show interesting trends, but it is difficult to draw firm conclusions
because so much of the initial data had to be excluded. A uniform system for reporting
SAR missions in California may be helpful for further research, which may aid both
SAR teams and the recreational public in understanding risk factors. A proposed SAR
form for easy entry is included in the discussion section.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 16, 2023
Accepted:
January 30,
2023
Received:
August 23,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofIdentification
Copyright
© 2023 Wilderness Medical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
