North Shore Rescue responds to 3 calls in 24 hours as crews plead for hikers to be prepared

North Shore Rescue said its volunteers responded to three calls for help in the last 24 hours, two of them involving hikers who were unprepared.

NSR manager Scott Merriman said they received a call late Thursday night from three hikers who were stuck on Coliseum Mountain.

They later located a lost hiker near Elsay Lake in Mount Seymour Provincial Park.

1:50 Trio of B.C. hikers successfully rescued from Coliseum Mountain

NSR crews also performed an aerial rescue of an injured hiker near St. Marks Summit in Cypress Provincial Park.

Merriman said the hikers at Coliseum Mountain and Elsay Lake hadn’t planned adequately.

“They headed out on hikes that they weren’t prepared for very late in the day and they got benighted,” Merriman said.

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Search-and-rescue crews around the province have urged caution as they grapple with a surge in calls as well as increased risk amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

1:12 Hot weather leads to spikes in B.C. rescue calls over the weekend

Squamish Search and Rescue says it has had to deal with 15 calls in the past 10 days.

Squamish SAR manager Mike Teske said there was a day when his crew was out from 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. responding to four calls that ranged from a challenging crevasse rescue to a stranded person “who just needed to be talked out.”

“They kind of went back to back to back,” he said of the four calls. “So we ate breakfast together, lunch and dinner.”

Teske said visitors are encouraged to enjoy the great outdoors but should plan properly.

“It’s a wonderful place, but be prepared,” he said.

“It’s important to know where you’re going. It’s important to have the right equipment and it’s important to be prepared if something bad does happen.”

— With files from Simon Little