A Search And Rescue Can Cost You

[Iceaxe]

A search and rescue in Grand or Wayne counties can cost you
A national organization worries billing will deter calls for help.
By nate carlisle-| The Salt Lake Tribune
Sep 24 2012

Moab • On March 25, Miriam Babineau was on a spring break trip with her husband and children when she drove up a hill, went over a steep rock and her all-terrain vehicle flipped backward on the Seven Mile Rim Trail north of Moab.

The ATV fell on top of her. Babineau broke 18 ribs, punctured one lung, collapsed both lungs and broke her left collarbone. A helicopter landed along the trail and flew her to a hospital. A few weeks later, Babineau, a 52-year-old resident of McCall, Idaho, was still recuperating when she received a bill in the mail she wasn’t expecting.

It wasn’t from a doctor or an ambulance service. It was a $750 bill from Grand County Search and Rescue.

"I will pay the bill," Babineau said last month, "but am I crazy about it? Not so much."

The bill could have been a lot higher if Babineau had gotten hurt in Wayne County’s Blue John Canyon. Wayne County’s search and rescue team last year sent a $4,000 bill to Amos Richards, the then-64-year-old North Carolina man who made national news when he spent four days hiking out of that canyon on a broken ankle before rescuers found him.

"It surprised me," Richards said in a telephone interview last month, "because they told me when they rescued me, ‘You might have to pay gas for the helicopter.’ But I didn’t realize it would be that much."

Grand and Wayne counties are believed to be the only counties in Utah and two of the few in the United States that charge for search and rescue services. Sheriffs in both counties say searches and rescues are expensive, they don’t have the tax revenue to pay for all of them and the majority of people who need rescue don’t live in their counties, anyway. Why should locals have to pay to find and save tourists?

"If you knowingly, purposely intentionally put yourself in harm’s way, you should be responsible for that," said Wayne County Sheriff Kurt Taylor.

In a position statement on its website, the National Association For Search & Rescue opposes billing. The organization provided a list of 14 examples where it was discovered later someone waited to call 911 or refused help because he or she was worried about fees.

"The mission of [search and rescue] organizations is to save lives, not just the lives of those who can afford to pay the bill," the position statement says.

story continues belowstory continues belowBut Grand County Sheriff Steve White said he’s never heard of a case in his county where someone in the outdoors waited or refused to call for help for fear of paying.

"If somebody’s hurt, we’re coming no matter what," White said, "whether the bill [gets] paid or it doesn’t."

In Grand County, a lot of the bills don’t get paid.

Records provided by Grand County show that in 2011 it sent bills for 52 search and rescue operations totaling $39,140.

But Grand County collected only $22,917. In 14 cases, the rescuee didn’t pay, records show. In 11 other cases, the recipient paid only a portion of the bill.

Grand County charged and collected more in 2010. That year, the county charged $77,449 for 53 search and rescues. It received $60,626.

Diana Carroll, the Grand County clerk, said in an email that a billing company pursues the fees for six months. But taking unpaid bills to court, Carroll said, would cost more than what is owed.

Jim Nyland, who implemented the search and rescue fees while sheriff in the early 1990s, said he was trying to protect local taxpayers and make people accountable for their actions.

"People come here to recreate and get themselves into situations that they aren’t familiar with and can’t handle," said Nyland, who now serves on the Grand County Council.

Sheriff’s deputies and search and rescue personnel tell stories about people who visit Grand County and hike in 110-degree heat with only a small bottle of water, raft without flotation devices when the river is swollen or ride or drive mountain bikes, ATVs or Jeeps on trails that are too challenging.

Jim Fife, of Grand Junction, Colo., doesn’t feel he was doing anything too dangerous, but he still paid a $1,500 bill to Grand County. In 2008, Fife was rafting the Colorado River in Westwater Canyon. His raft flipped on the first rapid, throwing him, his wife and a friend out of the boat. Fife’s wife and friend climbed onto another raft while Fife swam to shore. The rest of his party went down river. Fife, then age 60, planned to stay the night on shore and flag down a passing boat in the morning.

But a river guide called the Grand County Sheriff’s Office. Search and rescue responded. A boat driven by Bureau of Land Management personnel picked up Fife that night.

Fife, in an interview last month, said the bill was "pretty reasonable" and he paid it even though he says he didn’t need rescuing.

"It was total overkill," Fife said of the search and rescue response. "On the other hand, if I needed them, I would be grateful for it."

But Fife and Babineau question how much Grand County personnel did for them. It was BLM employees who retrieved Fife. Babineau said the helicopter from St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction arrived before search and rescue did.

"I’m not sure [Grand County Search and Rescue] actually had to do anything when they got there," Babineau said.

White said just sending personnel out the door costs money, and even in cases where someone else finds the troubled party first, Grand County Search and Rescue may have spent time looking.

story continues belowstory continues belowGrand County doesn’t charge everyone. If the victim is dead or dies, no bill is sent to the next of kin. Grand County also won’t charge if the rangers at Arches or Canyonlands national parks ask for help finding or rescuing someone. White said he considers that to be assisting another agency, something that’s a courtesy in law enforcement.

Those who do receive a bill have little warning it’s coming. Grand County’s billing rate is a public record available upon request. But neither the rates nor advisements telling people they could be billed are published in any of the brochures or travel guides promoting the Moab area.

[See article for more]

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/54...earch.html.csp

[jman]

I just read this on the Tribune's website. Good read.

I especially enjoyed this statement: "Grand and Wayne counties are believed to be the only counties in Utah and two of the few in the United States that charge for search and rescue services. Sheriffs in both counties say searches and rescues are expensive, they don’t have the tax revenue to pay for all of them and the majority of people who need rescue don’t live in their counties, anyway. Why should locals have to pay to find and save tourists?"

Good discussion I'm sure.

[deagol]

I think both sides of this issue have good points. Probably not a black & white issue.

[Iceaxe]

I occasionally talk with members of the Wayne Country SAR team. They are some good guys, but Wayne County has an extremely small tax base. The problem is pretty simple to them.... they need money to preform Search and Rescue missions, as they received very little funding. Many SAR's are paid for out of the team members own pockets.

So yeah.... I can see both sides of the issue....

[summitseeker]

Everything costs money. Bottom line: if you get hurt, it's going to be expensive.