Whatcom County Search & Rescue Council

It has been an honor and privilege to work with these two great community support members over the years!

Be safe and don’t take the risk.

Huge shout out to the lynden chamber and all of the people who stopped by to say hi. We were able to hand out over 250 cups of cider and coco in an hour and a half. Everyone was having a great time and we will be back. Thank you to our great Whatcom County community. Also a big thank you to or sponsor Lynden Food Pavilion and Clear Water Systems for helping make it happen!

Be safe out there.

A couple of us from Bellingham Mountain Rescue went out and checked out the significant accumulation of new snow. We found very sensitive weak layers so we kept the skiing on slopes under 30 degrees. Be careful out there people, especially with the warming trend coming. Be sure to check out the latest forecasts on NWAC.com. also check out the new Avy app and download it for the season!

Come out and see Search and Rescue tonight at 4th and front street in lynden. We will be handing out FREE hot coco and hot apple cider during the lynden lighted parade. Big thank you to our sponsors, Lynden Food Pavilion and Clean Water Systems.

Our donation box will be staffed again this Saturday from 10-noon.
Email [email protected] for more information or to schedule a pickup at your location.

Update: Our donation box will be staffed again Saturday (12/9) from 10-noon.
Email [email protected] for more information or to schedule a pickup at your location.

It's time to clean your closets and get ready for the New Year!
Whatcom County Search and Rescue is having a fundraiser to raise money for our new building. We are asking for donations of new or used items in good condition to be auctioned off later this year. Items that will be accepted include: Household Goods, Collectables & Antiques, Sporting Equipment, Small Appliances, Tools, Yard and Garden Supplies, Outdoor/Camping Gear, etc... Please, no clothes, unless they are a specialty or designer item - wedding dress or ski coat, for example. Items can be dropped off at the Search and Rescue storage container, located in the Get Simple Box parking lot in the Wiser Lake Business Park. (7350 Guide Meridian)

Days/Hours that items can be dropped off will be updated regularly on our website at www.wcsar.org. Our first scheduled intake is Saturday, November 25, 2023 between 10 AM and noon. If you have items to donate, but are unable to deliver them, please call the WCSAR building and leave a message with your name, address and items to be donated or send an email to [email protected] and we will coordinate a pickup date.

⚠️Tues Nov 28 0945
Freezing fog advisory has been extended until noon.

Freezing Fog Advisory up for W. Whatcom County until 10 AM Tuesday. Please see our prior post as well regarding info pertaining to fog/freezing fog.

Update: Our donation box will be staffed again Saturday (12/9) from 10-noon.
Email [email protected] for more information or to schedule a pickup at your location.

It's time to clean your closets and get ready for the New Year!
Whatcom County Search and Rescue is having a fundraiser to raise money for our new building. We are asking for donations of new or used items in good condition to be auctioned off later this year. Items that will be accepted include: Household Goods, Collectables & Antiques, Sporting Equipment, Small Appliances, Tools, Yard and Garden Supplies, Outdoor/Camping Gear, etc... Please, no clothes, unless they are a specialty or designer item - wedding dress or ski coat, for example. Items can be dropped off at the Search and Rescue storage container, located in the Get Simple Box parking lot in the Wiser Lake Business Park. (7350 Guide Meridian)

Days/Hours that items can be dropped off will be updated regularly on our website at www.wcsar.org. Our first scheduled intake is Saturday, November 25, 2023 between 10 AM and noon. If you have items to donate, but are unable to deliver them, please call the WCSAR building and leave a message with your name, address and items to be donated or send an email to [email protected] and we will coordinate a pickup date.

Be safe out there.

From ours to yours we wish you a happy Veterans Day. We thank you for your sevice!

https://whatcom-news.com/winter-storm-watch-issued-due-to-expected-heavy-snow-in-eastern-whatcom-county_215294/

Winter Storm Watch issued due to expected heavy snow in eastern Whatcom County | Whatcom News Total snow accumulations of 8 to 22 inches are possible.

Congratulations to SAR volunteer and BMRC president Rich Siemer for your award at the most recent International Technical Rescue Symposium Event,

A great time was had by all! It was rewarding to get out and spend time with the community. We are looking forward to supporting this event next year!

Here are some observed low temperatures from this fine Saturday morning. Definitely a chilly start to the weekend. Got down to 14 degrees at NWS Spokane this morning.

Come join Search and Rescue Birch Bay Trick or Treat on the Burm. Event is from 3:00 to 5:00, bring your family out and come say hi.

Thank you to all of our first responders.

Our teams going the distance.

BMRC president Rich Siemer attended the International Commission for Alpine Rescue in the Sud Tirol region of Italy last week. It's vitally important for our members to collaborate with and learn from the larger rescue community so that BMRC can provide the best care for the people of Whatcom County.

We're still fundraising folks! See the link in Our Bio to help execute our mission.

Oct. 19 is the Great Washington ShakeOut! At about 10:19 a.m., more than 100 tsunami sirens will be activated on the Coast of Washington. They will have the actual, high pitched WAILING sound. Please do not call 911. At the same time, folks across the state will drop, cover and hold on. You’re invited to participate! Some schools may practice evacuation drills so please be cautious.

So, here’s a run-down of the tests happening today:

✅Emergency Alert System on TV & Radio will be tested.
🚫 Wireless Emergency Alert system (cell phone texts) will NOT be tested.
✅ The MyShake Earthquake Early Warning App will be tested but you have to DOWNLOAD it to work. If you already have it downloaded, make sure the app is updated with the latest software and open it at least once before 10:19 today. Find download links at https://mil.wa.gov/alerts

✅NOAA Weather Radios will be tested.
✅The Tsunami Siren network will be tested.
🚫Lahar /AHAB sirens in Pierce County will NOT tested.
✅Emergency sirens in Tri-Cities will be tested
✅Some jurisdictions may test their opt-in alert software. These are systems you have to opt in to join. Find your jurisdiction at https://mil.wa.gov/alerts

In this post, we’re going to try to answer some of your questions.

Did the MyShake App go off early today? Yes, we’re told there was a test at 10:19 UTC, which was 3:19 a.m. Pacific Time. The test did not originate from our agency. A test at 10:19 a.m. Pacific Time is still planned. (Some of us were woken up, too. Sorry this happened). USGS talks about that here https://x.com/USGS_ShakeAlert/status/1714959186105397633

Where are the Tsunami Sirens located at? The outer Coast of Washington as well as the upper Puget Sound area. You can find maps here: https://mil.wa.gov/tsunami

What do the sirens sound like? A high-pitched noise. You can hear it here. https://mil.wa.gov/asset/5d1ce98da1603. There will also be a voice message in English and Spanish after. The voice sound may be muffled to you depending on where you live. The sirens are only meant to be heard if you are near them.

Will I hear the sirens inside my house? UNLIKELY. These sirens are meant to be heard if you are OUTSIDE within 500 feet of all directions of the sirens. We encourage you to have a NOAA Weather Radio to act as an inside warning for you. They cost about $40 and some local emergency management agencies even give them away at preparedness fairs. There WILL be a NOAA Weather Radio test.

I legitimately should have heard a tsunami siren near me and it didn’t go off. Who should I contact? Please use this form https://bit.ly/EMDPrepare There is even an email address on the form if you want to contact us directly that way.

I didn’t get the MyShake App test. Why not? We don’t control their test, but they are answering questions on their FAQ here. https://myshake.berkeley.edu/faq.html -app
How does the earthquake early warning system work? Learn more here https://www.pnsn.org/pnsn-data.../earthquake-early-warning

I want to learn more about ShakeOut. Register at shakeout.org/Washington and find more there!

Our SAR teams pulling together for our annual Helo training with NAS Whidbey Island SAR. Big thank you to all our volunteers, sherrifs office, and the navy for making it possible.

Just in from WSDOT...Mount Baker Highway is now OPEN to traffic between Britton & Noon Roads.

-Local detours & closures related to this project are no longer in effect.
-Expect single-lane closures starting tomorrow.
-Please continue to be patient in this area for a few more weeks.

Learn more about this fish passage project: https://wsdot.wa.gov/construction-planning/search-projects/sr-542-squalicum-creek-bellingham-bay-fish-passage