Several Upper Peninsula and Northern Wisconsin Search and Rescue Teams Meet for Full Scale Training Exercise in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park

Last Saturday search and rescue agencies from throughout the Upper Peninsula and areas of Northern Wisconsin met in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park for a full-scale training exercise. Local Search Group Superior Search and Rescue was a lead agency in the training opportunity for the Lake Superior region after working with the Michigan DNR. SSAR President Darian Reed says that the exercise included several scenarios that groups cannot easily train volunteers on such as a rescue from a near vertical wall. 

We wanted to not only have just ground search training, but we also wanted to work on a high-angle rescue scenario. And we got some high-angle teams involved at Lake of the Clouds. We also wanted to have some water based rescue training going on. So the US Coast Guard had come up and joined us. We were very thankful for the opportunity for the United States Coast Guard Air Station, Traverse City. They were able to send one of the helicopters to come up for the weekend. We also had plenty of opportunities for our canine units and quite a few other area assets to be out there including the Michigan State Police Communications Division – Darian Reed, President, Superior Search and Rescue

Reed says that many of the organizations that attended the training weekend have worked together in the past on search scenes. Communication between search teams in the field and Headquarters is vital to a successful search. But just as important for rescue coordinators includes setting up clear lines of communication between individual agencies. 

We had set up a unified command team between another Superior Search and Rescue, the Michigan department of Natural Resources with both the Porcupine Mountain State Part and for the conservation officer division, along with the Michigan State Police, and the Ontonagon County Sheriff Office. So we set up a unified command center with all of them and they were working together as one team to be able to handle what was going on with the scenario for referring to them. In terms of actual communications, we were very surprised and very impressed with people communicating with teams out in the field, especially within some of the other challenges such as setting up connectivity for area and other resources that we needed to be able to support an operation of this size. While we may not always have an operation of this size that occurs, it’s very good for all of us to try to train and work together on something like this because we never know when an incident may become this big – Darian Reed, President, Superior Search, and Rescue

Superior Search and Rescue hopes to work with Michigan DNR to organize full-scale training exercises once a year in the future. Throughout the year the agency trains in several weather conditions and scenarios to remain as prepared as possible for when called upon.

Those interested in getting outside this recreation season, planning on making hunting trip plans in the fall, or getting out on the trail can check out the Superior Search and Rescue website here, to find various trips and plan resources to stay safe in the Copper Country.

Those interested in learning more about the organization and ways to get involved or support search and rescue efforts with Superior Search and Rescue can find more details and volunteer information here.