Water rescue on the Little Mo

[Paddlegal]

Recovery efforts are to continue for weeks, indicated by the sheriff.

I want to say that the club members involved in the search should not hesitate to get some grief counseling during/after this. Certainly it is hard on the families to lose loved ones, but hard on you too...recovery is going to be shocking for you should you find anyone.

What you are doing is going to prove to be an emotional strain. I think you are very brave to be out there doing what you are. I couldn't do it.

Here is an informative article with a short vid and a pic of our members at the put in.

http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2010 ... -20100613/

[fryingsquirrel]

I have to admit that I am greatly saddened by this tragic event, and it has led me to want to take some training on some basic rescue techniques. There was one thing that I was elated to see, and that was the picture on the front page of the LR paper this morning, with all the ACC guys getting ready to start the search yesterday morning. I can't express how proud I am of all you guys out there risking your necks for our community. All I can do is try to follow in your steps one day, and hope that as I develop my paddling skills, I'll be able to one day help out in the selfless way that everyone out there has helped. A huge thanks to all involved, you guys and gals make me proud to be a paddler in Arkansas.

[hellbender]

Just here to hopefully find some answers to why some things happened the way they did on Friday and gain some understanding and stop being so mad about the situation.There was a strong team of boaters there ready physically/menally by 1pm to put on at a good medium level at Albert Pike and search for possable survivors that could not be seen by eye or thrml.We knew it was dropping fast and had to act quick before it got to low or dark.Told to "Stand By"!Stand by while horses,dogs,hikers,and fourwheelers were allowed in to search in the most rugged part of the Little Mo.(Comment from that nights news said that was the only way into that area )Around 2pm the party was allowed to put on at 84 and go down to the Star of the West.There was alot of disappointment in the crew,we all knew where we needed to be.ALOT of disappointment came from family members when they found out where they were allowing us to put on at.Contemplated many,many times of going rogue to AP and putin.I would of takin a criminal charge for it!I would of slept better that night knowing I did what I could to make sure no one slept out there that night after the water and heat of that day,or makean acount for someone that was missing for their family.I am sorry I didn't go back Saturday but I knew what was going to happen again and knew there were plenty of people down there to help.Just think there was to many suits with big heads,no idea,confussed,and terrible attitudes to be in charge of a situation like this.I'm not going to bash about what I saw but they made me sick.Hope all have a better understanding now of what it takes and how it should be done,lessons learned.I don't want people to start bashing but if you have a good answer to why I would love to hear it.

[Lupe]

No good answers from me, I'm afraid, and I have had trouble grappling with this, too. Here's my thoughts on it as I've mulled it over.

On the one hand, I understand that they needed to make sure NO MORE VICTIMS, and whoever was in charge didn't know who the paddlers were or what their skills or qualifications were. While some of our paddlers have some connections, either because they also work with emergency services in a professional capacity, or because some of our paddlers have in fact TRAINED rescue personnel on Swiftwater Rescue, but none of those connections seemed to be good enough/or with the right people. And then part of me wonders: well, how did all the ATV, horseback riders, and hikers get cleared to help? Did they have special qualifications or connections? Frankly, riding an ATV through that area or riding a horse or even just hiking through all that probably entailed more personal risk than what paddling a class III Lil Mo at 8 ft would have been for the paddlers who were there on Friday!

What I have asked myself is: if I was the one who had been caught in that campground...or if my family member or loved one was missing...hell yes, I would want to know guys like Cowper or Billy Williams or Jodie were going to be on that river ASAP. We know we have to rely on one another on the river: on someplace like the Hailstone or Richland, it is really just the guys and gals that you paddle with who are going to have your back if something goes wrong. If there is a situation that whitewater paddlers can provide needed skills - then we should be involved. It's not realistic to expect any local rescue service to be able to negotiate a river like the Little Missouri at 8 feet. But if this tragedy had not happened, there would have been at least a DOZEN paddlers on that river by noon on Friday, just to HAVE FUN. Clearly the river at 8ft by noon the day of the flood was WELL within the skill range of the paddlers there, and many more who would have dropped everything to be there if we thought we would have been allowed on the water.

This was a unique situation where just hours after the tragedy, ww paddlers could have been a unique resource who could have safely negotiated down that river as early as Friday afternoon. Now, maybe in hindsight, there were no survivors after the initial flash flood, but no one could have known that for sure, and that can never be/should never be assumed in future flooding situations.

It's my sincere hope that none of us in our lifetimes see an event like this again, but if this type of situation were to EVER arise again in this state, I really want us to have worked out a system that would let us provide our skills as a community. I think we have to figure out a way to liaison officially: because if we were to "go rogue" and try to force our way off the grid into the situation, then we could definitely create a bad diversion of needed resources, and that is NOT what any of us want. We need to figure out how to work together with the authorities in charge. Again, I do not think based on what I have heard (and I just have to hope this is true), that a search Friday would have made a difference THIS TIME, but I sure want to give anyone who might survive anything like this in the future the chance of having someone at least go down the river as soon as possible if such a tragedy were to ever happen again.

I also want to state that I am sure that EVERYONE there was doing everything they could to find survivors at all times throughout the event, and they were managing a chaotic situation and I have no doubt under tremendous emotional strain by the enormity of the tragedy. I believe that if there was something in place that could have identified paddlers as a legitimate resource, then things could have been different. That is what I want to see if we can correct.

I plan to bring this up at our next Board meeting as an area I want the club to see if we can't help to some way to officially identify a cadre of paddlers who could help in such emergencies in the future (again - hopefully a system that is never needed!) - something so that regardless of who might be the Incident Commander in any of dozens of counties across the state, that it could be known that we could provide qualified, trained, skilled paddlers as a resource.

It is my hope that we see 2 things develop in the aftermath of what happened on the Little Missouri: 1) that campgrounds such as Albert Pike which are clearly next to a known flashy river get a warning siren system linked to USGS gauge info; 2) that paddlers in our community are given an "official" way that we can offer our unique skills if they were to ever be needed in a similar tragedy ever again.

More than my 2 cents,
Heather (aka Lupe)

[DeBo]

My thoughts on this have tracked almost identically with yours, Heather. Thanks for laying it all out. I agree that we need to discuss this at a board meeting.

I think the problem is a lack of familiarity with real whitewater skills among most law enforcement. They know about fourwheelers and even horses but all they really know about paddling is trying to make a canoe go straight and "tumping" on the Buffalo. They think people who go down things like the Little Mo or the Cossatot must be "crazy". They imagine that putting boaters on a river with high water is sending them into extreme risk and that is not something they will do with civilians.

I think that if we are allowed into "the inner circle" it will have to be in some "official" capacity where we can be recognized as the experts that we are. I will talk to a few people and try to find out if there is some way we can accomplish this. I guess we may need to carry badges.

[gannon311]

Amen sister!! What she said

[JTarver]

I am in agreement with both Debo and Heather on this. It's like it doesn't matter how much training paddlers would have for this sort of thing, we are seen as a bunch of "kids" who just want to be in the way. However, one summer on the Saline in benton, I had officials actually ask me to paddle downriver and try to find a victim that had been beaten up and left in the river.
I was in my playboat, and said I'd be happy to paddle down to see what I could find. Sure enough, found the woman and another guy who was struggling to try and get her back upstream. We ended up putting her in my kayak and getting her back to the paramedics long before rescue boats were there to search. The crews were really thankful for the help, and had talked about getting kayaks to search for future victims.
I don't think anything ever went past that however.

Still, that day, things worked out great. I only wish more agencies could see the usefulness of what we could do.

Joe

[Butch Crain]

bring this up at our next Board meeting as an area I want the club to see if we can't help to some way to officially identify a cadre of paddlers who could help in such emergencies in the future

The American Red Cross would be a good place to contact - I think local law enforcement are sometimes overwhelmed tactically and emotionally by this type of trauma and may overreact in trying to bring some control over the situation. Red Cross is one group everyone recognizes as being a legitimate resource and also as an organization seems open to including others with unique skill sets in their efforts.

ACC should also consider having a designated person go to Incident Command training and serve as the coordinator for reacting to these type of emergencies.

Arkansas has numerous opportunities for general Search and Rescue training -

http://www.nasar.org/nasar/instructors.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; -

maybe there's already some coordinating between those folks and ACC's swiftwater rescue trainers, if not it might also be a good idea for ACC to send someone to one of those courses.

[Jim E]

I so appreciate the effort that those of the ACC put in trying to help with this tragic event!! THANK YOU

I remain critical of law enforcement beleiving that they "know it all" and don't "need" any "outside" help. Truly, I think it mostly can be chalked up to ignorance on their part. Ignorance in a grand way. And as is often the case, ignorance leads to fear. Fear to even think of having anyone else on or near the river.

As others have already mentioned, the best search of a river is by those that know it the best! Ones that are familar with the currents, different levels and dynamics of the river and have the skills and equipment to navigate it.

Hopefully the ACC can get on their list and convince them that we can offer a needed resource.

My heart and prayers go out to those families that lost loved ones. I also hope that there isn't an extreme, knee jerk reaction by the authorities to the point that they start limiting the use of our beloved rivers because of this!

[Karla]

How far in miles downstream were ya'll able to put in and searce? I had heard someone was found (victim) 8 miles downstream. I agree with all that was said by Heather, she made good points, also others. Hopefully another tragedy won't happen again but in case ones that are skilled should be allowed to assist and my son worked for the emergency management with the state and could tell me people to contact. I will get the info from him.

Karla

[DeMo]

I'd like to address at least some of the concerns about why/how the SaR/recovery may be operating at the moment without being argumentative or disrespectful. First, what has happened is tragic beyond words. Next, this is an incident most likely being managed under the auspices of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and is likely a Type 2 incident that has Incident Command, Logistics, Planning, Operations and so on, meaning "really complicated, requiring State level resources"

Type 2 Incident – Multiple operational periods, many command and general staff positions filled, regional and/or national resources brought in (i.e.,devastating flood or earthquake).

Incident Objectives are straightforward in this order
1. Life Safety
2. Incident Stabilization
3. Property Preservation

There is an Incident Action Plan that's supposed to cover
1. What do we want to do?
2. Who is responsible for doing it?
3. How do we communicate with each other?
4. What is the procedure if someone is injured?

Recommended reading:
http://training.fema.gov/IS/crslist.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS100A.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS200A.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is700a.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Please take the time to go through this. A lot of your questions will be answered.

It's hard for some of us "on the outside" to see the purpose or method in the efforts of the SaR/recovery folks, but they do have a plan and they're trying to keep things from getting any worse.

[DeBo]

Yes, they do have a plan and have my undying respect for what they do. However, many of them remain ignorant of an extremely valuable resourse which is right in front of them. Some have actually died themselves on a river rather than take the advice of a kayaker. American Whitewater has an excellent article addressing this issue. It is very long, but explains our situation perfectly. Please read it!

http://www.americanwhitewater.org/conte ... :accidents" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here is a story qouted from the article linked to above:

"a novice paddler washed into a downed tree while running a Class II rapid on Slippery Rock Creek in Western Pennsylvania. He was pinned under water just 20 feet from shore. Other boaters in the vicinity rushed to the scene, but could do nothing. When firefighters arrived, paddlers told them that the victim had been underwater for 45 minutes and was clearly dead. They suggested using a chain saw to cut the downed tree loose while paddlers waited downstream to pick up the body.

The Volunteer Fire Department's dive team rejected this idea and sent two men wading down to the strainer from upstream. Lines from shore were tied to static harnesses (with no quick release), a procedure which has caused many firefighter deaths nationwide. In addition, the two men were connected by second line that created an additional snag hazard. Minutes later something went terribly wrong. It's not clear if the pair lost their footing or if a rope became snagged, but both men disappeared under water. A few minutes later the ropes were cut, but by then it was too late. The pair was dead when they washed ashore below Harris Bridge.

The next day firefighters cut the downed tree at the shoreline, allowing the man and his kayak to float free. Paddlers later approached the fire company and offered to provide swiftwater rescue training, but were turned down. Some local newspaper accounts blamed the kayaker for the death of the rescuers.

Sometimes paddlers are accused of endangering rescuers just by being on the river. Typically he does not understand the capabilities of modern whitewater paddlers. The argument is no more compelling than saying that we endanger rescuers by driving cars that crash or living in houses that catch fire! Firefighters have no problem refusing to send men into a building that's about to collapse, and the same thing holds true for swiftwater rescue. Rescuers, like paddlers, must know their limits and refuse to compound the problem by becoming a victim themselves. "

The article goes on to give examples where rescue teams and paddlers have worked very productively together.

[OzarkTom]

Folks,

First I'd like to say how impressed I am with our members willingness to lend a hand to help in this tragedy. It truly speaks volumes to see so many willing to help folks that they have never even met. This type of search work is grim business and my hat is of to all the paddlers that have offered their skills and time to this

As many of you know, I work in Search and Rescue here in Arkansas and hopefully can shed some light on some of the frustrations that have been expressed on this thread. Having been involved in the management of such operations I can say without question, it never goes quite as you'd like it to.

I would begin by agreeing, searches like this often seem chaotic in nature when they begin. When so many different responders and agencies are all put together at once, there is a period of adjustment that takes place when roles are being established and leadership is being decided. The strain on the searchers who are awaiting assignment is significant. It is very difficult as a volunteer/searcher to be standing there just waiting for the word GO knowing that time is passing and you aren't getting anything done. Having been involved in emergency services for the past 20 years, I know.. and I thank all of you for being patient in spite of it.

However, even though it might not seem like it, things are better in that respect than they were years ago. After 9/11 it was apparent that the country needed some sort of standardization, so the National Incident Management System (NIMS) was created. This system helps standardize roles and ways of doing things and we spend a great deal of time in trainings so we can do better when these types of things happen. Is it perfect? absolutely not, but we really are trying to make it better. The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management (ADEM) has been putting forth great efforts to get us all trained in our roles and while I know it still is a work in progress, we are getting there.

One of the challenges with the system is that it requires a set level of training that meets national standards for responders. Paddlers don't currently fit into any "typed resource" and there are administrative fears of liability and workmans comp issues. The Incident Commander is ultimately responsible for anything that happens under their watch and sometimes this can adversly affect decisions.

However, in my county (Washington) we have managed to come up with a way of integrating volunteers with special skills into our responses and as time passes, I think we will be seeing more of this. There is no doubt that skilled boaters are able to do things that most agency responders are unable to. As Heather mentioned earlier, the rivers at levels that are dangerous for most people are our playplace.

I suspect that all the news coverage of this event will put us in a better position for our aid to be accepted in future events and I will be working through our Local Department of Emergency Management which coordinates with ADEM to find avenues to make this less of a challenge in the future.

Once again, thank you to all who have helped with this. Even if you don't hear it on scene, you are greatly appreciated by all.

If you are willing, I'd like to have a list of those who would like to be called in the future for this type of service.

Email me with your name, contact info, pertinent experience (trainings, certifications, anything else you can offer etc), what type of watercraft you paddle.

Send this info to me at SwiftwaterRescue@gmail.com and I'll start a database on this that we may be able to use in the future.

I'd also encourage you to talk with your local Search and Rescue team or whoever responds to these types of incidents in your area. By becoming known by responders, it increases the likelihood of being called upon when situations arise in your area.

[hellbender]

Thank Yall

[Paddlegal]

I like Ozark Tom's response. And I have these thoughts. How do you establish credibility? Credentials, PR, exposure, information.

We, within our group, know our capabilities, the public and authorities do not.

1.Make your aim be to contact these organization/gov/locals before a tragedy strikes.
2.establish credibility with rural authorities, instead of just Rockport, maybe give demos/displays, etc. out in some of these play rivers. How often have we ever done stuff like that on the buff or the mulberry, or the caddo?
3.Uniformity--perhaps we could invest in something that portrays our aim in these situations. Say magnetic signs for vehicles, Uniforms or patches, maybe dayglow over(lifejackets) mesh vests naming the club and our intent (swiftwater rescue).

I think if the club aims for something like this, it is going to be creating or making a real addition/change in a portion of our "goal" if we are to establish credibility with authorities.

Just some quick thoughts, excuse the punctuation and vocabulary. I'm proud to know you people.