Mission Report by Katie Mummah
On Tuesday, March 24 an evening call came in for a hiker with an injured leg on a bluff south of Jemez Springs. Three of us Brigadiers responded in the first wave and two came in a slow response.
We arrived at incident base to find a joint command. In addition to NMSAR teams AMRC and CiSAR, there was a robust response from Sandoval County Fire.
Firefighters had already reached and packaged the subject in a litter, so we were to join the litter train and extract. We crossed the Jemez River, barely flowing at mid-calf at this time of year, and climbed up the bluff. The light was fading but headlamps weren’t needed just yet.
When we intersected with the litter we jumped right into the train. There were several steep and/or loose sections, but the extraction went smoothly with so many hands on the litter and brake line.
After crossing the river a second time, we reached a waiting ambulance and transferred the subject to their expert hands.
A joint debriefing of NMSAR teams with Fire was positive from all responders. Both sides spoke highly about the integration and we hope to collaborate on more missions going forward.
The slow responders unfortunately pulled up after the debriefing concluded, but hopefully enjoyed their starlight drive back through the lovely Jemez mountains.