Across Baraga County, many visitors and residents enjoy getting outdoors. Hiking trails along the Sturgeon River gorge have become very popular, as have the rivers and streams that carry canoes and kayakers. Baraga County Sheriff Joe Brogan and his office lead the Baraga County search and rescue efforts when called upon. But the team also relies on determined and dedicated volunteers.
On a normal year, we would do somewhere between 12 and 24 calls. And those aren’t generally full-blown searches. A lot of times when we have people with local knowledge of the areas, those people are beneficial to sorting out most problems. For instance, if we have somebody lost on the Sturgeon River, you know, that is overdue on a canoe trip. have people from Pelke that know the area well and that helps us cut down on search time when we have people that are intimately familiar with the territory. – Joe Brogan, Sheriff, Baraga County Sheriff’s Office
Volunteers for Search and Rescue dedicate a few hours throughout the year to training and attending quarterly meetings. Last week the Barag County Search and Rescue held its first meeting of the year to look ahead at the spring. Sheriff Brogan adds that training opportunities often collaborate with area law enforcement and fire departments.
We generally try to tie in everybody, law enforcement, and fire and rescue, because in a generally a real live event we’re going to use all those resources. So when we do set up a training scenario, we try to get everybody involved in the training. We have, and we do collaborate with Superior Search and Rescue as well. They’re always offering their assistance when needed. And generally, if we have a large-scale search, will take them up on their services. – Joe Brogan, Sheriff, Baraga County Sheriff’s Office
Brogan says consistency at meetings keeps volunteers and search leaders on the same page. Adding that generally, the meetings will take about an hour to go over past incidents and organize future training programs. In the past, the Baraga County search and rescue team has practiced vertical cliff rescue scenarios. Last month worked with the Keweenaw Bay Fire Department on ice rescue training. Those interested in getting involved with search and rescue operations in Baraga County should contact Sheriff Joe Brogan to learn more about joining the team and commitment to search efforts.
