The long holiday weekend was a busy one for Malibu Search and Rescue (SAR) that has seen an unusually high number of rescues this year. The holiday weekend from Friday, June 30, to July 4, Malibu SAR was busy participating in eight rescues. Two were related to brush fires, one near King Gillette Ranch and the other in Topanga. On July 1, Malibu SAR was called to help a hiker who fell near Mulholland and Stunt Road with an injured ankle; another injured hiker was rescued at Malibu Creek State Park and a missing hiker was found nearby, all on the same day.
Monday MSAR was called for two separate cliff rescue operations both near PCH and Tuna Canyon. One hiker was airlifted out, the other was helped by ground crews.
MSAR has had 94 rescues so far in 2017 — an unprecedented number. In the last six years rescues numbered anywhere from 93 to a record 132 rescues in one year alone. 2017 appears to be on a troubling record-setting pace. MSAR Team Leader David Katz explained, “Last year we were at 105 rescues. So by comparison we’re only 11 rescues away from last year’s entire year and we’re only half way through the year.”
While rescues were up over the weekend, beach attendance for the Fourth of July continued a downward trend at only 315,000 counted on beaches from Nicholas Canyon to Topanga across the long holiday weekend, according to LA County Ocean Lifeguard Specialist Spencer Parker. That’s about half of the number who came out for the summer holiday as recently as 2013.
The Fourth of July drew nearly 380,000 visitors to Malibu’s sand last year, with 450,000 counted in 2015, 584,000 counted in 2014 and 665,000 counted in 2013.
Parker reported 178 rescues across Malibu for the long weekend, with 125 medical calls and 2,408 ordinance violations recorded.
There’s no one answer as to why search and rescue calls have increased, Katz described, though social media may factor in.
“We’re really not sure that we can identify one single factor,” Katz said. “There are a lot more people seemingly out and about … There’s more social media that makes people aware of places to go in the greater Malibu and Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area.”
Katz mentioned SAR’s duties have also expanded in recent years, though that doesn’t fully account for the rise.
“We’re being used in a variety of ways that we’ve been used over the years, but even more so,” he said. “We’ve been called out for suspect searches, so a little bit more of the law enforcement-related operations, but that’s not the reason for such a significant increase. We are 50 percent ahead of last year at this date. Last year at this date we were at 62 calls and now we’re at 94. So, actually, just over 50 percent.”
Malibu SAR had 22 calls in June alone — a record.
“That’s really busy for a reserve-based rescue team. Some rescue teams across the state or across the country might get 22 calls a year, and we had them in a month,” Katz added.
Asked for recommendations to hikers and sightseers, Katz told The Malibu Times, “We always recommend that particularly in high temperatures that people have a plan — that they notify people where they’re going and when they’re expected to return — that they carry sufficient water and food and dress appropriately, carry GPS and/or a map and compass,” he said, “of course a phone that’s sufficiently charged with a backup battery is really critical and that they don’t go beyond their capability.”
