Can-Am Search and Rescue - Here for you
CAN-AM Search & Rescue (Canadian-American) was founded in 1976 as a Citizen's Radio Club. Based in Eureka, the founders intended on aiding in communications on search and rescue missions which were, at the time, managed by other organizations. Shortly after founding the organization, a need for a dedicated search and rescue team was recognized and CAN-AM Search & Rescue was born. Today, due to stricter international border regulations, CAN-AM Search & Rescue no longer operates in Canada but still continues to serve the Tobacco Valley and surrounding areas as a non-profit organization.
CAN-AM’s first base station was at the home of Leigh and Faith Erickson. Later, it moved to Eureka’s old ambulance barn for several years, before finally moving into our new search and rescue barn in 1998. The search and rescue barn started as a dream--a place to house the equipment, vehicles, radios, and hold meetings. Grants from the Steele Reese Foundation, the local VFW and Plum Creek got the building started. Hard work from the members got it built. It was usable in 1998, and some members have been upgrading the building since. CAN-AM currently operates under the jurisdiction of the Lincoln County Sherriff’s office. Most of our funds come from mill levies and fund raisers.
CAN-AM rarely works alone on any call. There is teamwork between the Sherriff’s office, Eureka Ambulance crew, David Thompson Search & Rescue (Libby area SAR), US Forest Service, border patrol and dispatch (just to name a few). As our name says, we do “search and rescue”. But what does that mean? Sometimes it is locating an overdue hunter and reporting back to the family. Sometimes it is more complicated. A search and rescue operation can last for several days. CAN-AM operates according to the National Incident Management System. We are organized into several teams and most members serve on multiple teams. Our teams include avalanche and snowmobile, rope and swift water rescue, ice rescue, ATV and 4x4, boat, dispatch, and logistics. If we get a call for a lost snowmobiler, members of the avalanche and snowmobile team will respond. But more often than not, other team members will also respond to offer assistance. As an example of the interagency teamwork that occurs when we get a call, a recent rescue of an injured woman who had fallen down an embankment involved over 25 individuals from four agencies.
Besides responding to calls, we do training: first-aid and CPR (required of all members with refresher every two years), avalanche seminars, rope rescue, tracking, swift water rescue, 4x4 search practices, ice rescue, and more. By participating in training we can be more effective when the time comes to use the skills in an operation. Here in northwest Montana, we are blessed with beautiful mountains, rivers, lakes, and thousands of acres of remote wilderness. It’s a giant playground out there! However, with this beauty and remoteness can also come a certain degree of danger. A minor medical issue can become a matter of life or death. Even the savviest individual has occasionally gotten into a bad situation. Accidents happen, weather is unpredictable, cars break down or get stuck in the worst possible places. It’s a fact of life, but it shouldn’t cost you your life. That’s why CAN-AM does what it does for the community.
For More Information
Website: CAN-AM Search and Rescue
Facebook Page: CAN-AM Search and Rescue
About the Author: Rita Collins. I am a believer in the power of community and for now I call the Tobacco Valley home. I have lived in nine states and three counties and this community here amazes me - how people reach out to neighbors and even travelers. I've never lived in a place that demonstrates people caring for each other so well. And I've never lived in a place that has such a high percentage of talented musicians and artists. I work with the the Sunburst Community Service Foundation, a nonprofit that began in Eureka twenty years ago and now serves numerous communities in western Montana. And I just started a new business, St. Rita's Amazing Traveling Bookstore and Textual Apothecary. I never could have imagined life being this exciting in my sixth decade.
