For North Shore Rescue, it’s been a busy year – even by North Shore Rescue’s standards.
The all-volunteer team has been called out 124 times to rescue lost or injured folks in the backcountry. That’s about 5,200 volunteer hours. If you include training time, it’s more than double that.
Because their turf is on the doorstep of a major media market, the team gets a lot of attention. But search and rescue teams all over B.C. – in the mountains and on the water – have been run off their feet this year. The B.C. Search and Rescue Association estimates its 2,500 members across 80 teams in B.C. have put in 300,000 hours this year. The Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue’s 33 units in B.C. have responded to 700 calls this year, totaling 77,299 volunteer hours.
Many of these call-outs represent a life saved and a family that has been kept whole. We are grateful for every one of them.
Sadly though, we must acknowledge the empty chair at North Shore Rescue’s table this Christmas. This month, they lost longtime member Jay Piggot who faced a very public illness with cancer.
We’d suggest there’s a peak somewhere in Piggot’s beloved backyard mountains that might be named after him in the years ahead.
It would be a fitting way for us to show our gratitude to a volunteer who gave so selflessly.
Kurt Vonnegut wrote: “The most stirring symbol of man’s humanity toward man that I can think of is a fire truck.”
We’d suggest adding to that a yellow helicopter and a red zodiac.
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