INYO COUNTY, CA, March 21, 2020 – The Inyo County Sheriff’s Office, on behalf of Inyo County Search and  Rescue (SAR), requests that people do not take part in high risk outdoor activities at this time. Activities include backpacking, climbing, peak bagging, backcountry skiing, or anything that puts you at risk for potential rescue.

Inyo Search and Rescue shown on an earlier mission.

If you get sick, lost or injured and require SAR assistance, the responding team of volunteers will have to break social distancing and State mandated isolation by sharing rescue equipment, radios, and vehicles. You will be potentially taking those rescuers out of service for weeks due to post-mission quarantine protocols. In addition, many SAR teams, including ours, are operating at a diminished capacity due to many members self-isolating and not responding to operations due to age or other risk factors.

Your preventable backcountry injury will also stress ambulance and emergency room services. It is highly unlikely helicopters are available to assist in your rescue. Inyo County Sheriff’s Office DOES NOT own or operate any air assets, and our allied agency helicopters are currently operating at a very limited capacity.

The public can access the complete Inyo County Order, issued March 20, 2020 at:

https://www.inyocounty.us/sites/default/files/2020-03/ORDER_3.20.20_0.pdf.

Please visit http://inyosar.com/ for additional information about the Inyo SAR team, or to donate.