Q. Just in case I decide to climb Mount Hood in the middle of the winter, and I get stranded up there, how much can I expect my rescue will cost the taxpayers of Oregon? would I have to pay this back?.
A.Nothing and no. But I would think you would want to repay those who saved your life.
As a rule neither survivors nor the families of people who die are presented with bills. WHY? Generally volunteers with professional traing, in many cases amounting to a second full-time job, perform these searches, says Tim Novacks, spokesman for the National mountain rescue Association. volunteer groups provide 95 percent of all civil search and rescue operations in the United States of America. They find their own funding and do not receive tax dollars. Support such as helicopters might come from corporate donors or military teams, generally at no cost to the locality. In Oregon and most other states, the sheriff has the mandate to direct search-and-rescue operations and designates approved groups to participate in these efforts. In the case of the recent rescues on Mount Hood, it was the Clackamas County Sheriff's Department aided by volunteers from groups such as Portland Mountain Rescue. It's hard to quantify, but on average a rescue operation costs $2,000 per 24-hour period for the volunteers' costs, Kovacs says. Want to Help?Contribute to a sanctioned group.Visit the Web site of the National Mountain Rescue Association, mra.org/teams or nasar.org, to donate to rescue teams around the country.
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