Special Rescue Teams
CCF/R’s response area spans
43 miles of road end to end, but nearly double that by boat and air – with terrain as diverse as it is expansive. The urban/suburban setting of Juneau is strung along the bases of mountains just off the Juneau Icefield and for this reason it is a quick transition to remote wilderness.
Juneau sees a strong summer tourism season, hosting over 1 million visitors each year. Novice recreators or tourists, whether solo or as part of a tour group, are capable of easily accessing extreme wilderness.
Remote beauty draws people out and sometimes quickly out of their element. This terrain covers mountains at 3,000 ft. straight from sea level, glaciers and ice caves, rivers with rapids and known entrapment obstacles, and open ocean. When calls come in for rescue, on duty staff will respond with Rescue Teams being called in to supplement or take over.
Rope Rescue
Rope Rescue Team responses can range anywhere from over the bank all the way to technical high angle rescues. The urban/suburban setting of Juneau is strung along the bases of mountains just off the Juneau Icefield and for this reason it is a quick transition to remote wilderness. Technical rope rescues include industrial, crevasse glacier rescue, trail rescue and remote wilderness rescue. The Team is made of volunteer members and career staff who choose to join beyond their routine responsibilities.
For this reason, rescues are not only simple off rope rescues, but career members can find themselves on scene shifting into a technical rope rescue provider.
The Team performs over the bank operations and given Juneau’s diverse terrain, can at any moment transition to the side of a mountain. Remote access is our territory – supplemented by 4 wheelers, boat to trail access and helicopter drops as needed.
Ice & Swift Water Rescue
The Water Rescue Team trains for swift or static water rescue as well as surface ice rescue come winter. Year-round calls commonly come in for open water kayakers and stranded boaters or hunters. Southeast Alaska weather patterns are notoriously quick to change, and during the colder months water rescue can turn to ice rescue. All career staff train in basic water and ice rescue techniques; then Team members comprised of volunteers and optional career staff move into advanced techniques.
In coordination with the following organizations, the CCF/R Water & Rope Rescue Teams are optional participation and members are comprised of career staff and the volunteer corps.
