CHOPPER RESCUES ON THE RISE AIR RESCUE UNIT EXPECTS LOTS OF WEEKEND CALLS.

Byline: Eric Leach Staff Writer

As people flock to the Santa Monica Mountains and Los Padres National Forest, Ventura County Sheriff's Department helicopters are flying more rescue missions to help hikers, mountain bikers and others who unexpectedly find themselves in trouble.

And modern technology, including cellphones and personal global positioning satellite navigators, are helping the sheriff's deputies as never before find the people who need help.

``As school gets out, families start enjoying the wilderness,'' said Deputy Scott Norris, a crew chief on one of the department's helicopters.

``We have great places to go in Ventura County - the ocean, lakes and a lot of open land,'' he said, noting that high fuel prices are leading more people to enjoy the mountain areas close to home.

``But things can go south on you real quick,'' he said. ``It doesn't take long to slide off the side of a hill. All of a sudden, you are injured. It can be a life-or-death situation.''

The Sheriff's Department's Search and Rescue Unit averages five to 10 rescues on a typical weekend. It conducted 15 rescue missions during a 48-hour period over the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

Even the most experienced hikers or mountain bikers can suddenly find themselves in trouble, said Norris, who has been working with the rescue helicopter unit for five years.

Last weekend, Norris' unit rescued Walt Johnson of Thousand Oaks, who failed to return from a remote mountain bike ride.

Rescue crews met a family of hikers who had found Johnson in a river bed, injured from a bicycle crash. The hikers recorded his latitude and longitude coordinates with their GPS navigator, and gave the coordinates to the Sheriff's Department.

``We have a GPS in the our helicopter, so we just put (in) the coordinates, which pretty much led us straight to him,'' said Norris.

The helicopter's paramedic, Dana Sullivan, was lowered down to Johnson to assess his injuries, and the victim was hoisted up and flown to Ventura County Medical Center in Ventura.

Sheriff Bob Brooks called the members of his department's search and rescue aviation unit and the volunteers who assist them invaluable.

``Every year, they perform about 200 life-saving rescues. Nearly every weekend, lives are saved by this unit. They help bikers, hikers and Scout groups. The flooding this year really upped the ante. We had entire communities stranded.''

The Aviation Unit has 18 deputies and receives help from 160 to 180 volunteers who work on six search-and-rescue teams. Similar rescue units from counties throughout Southern California cooperate with each other.

But sometimes the searchers wind up finding someone has died, as in the case of Michael Hugo Miller, a 61-year-old Marina Del Rey man who fell earlier this month on Mount Pinos near the Ventura-Kern County border.

Lives are sometimes saved through the use of modern technology, including GPS navigators and cellphones, which make search and rescue operations much easier.

``We've had people call us on their cellphones and tell us where they are, so we fly into the area and ask them if they hear the helicopter, and eventually we see someone waving their hands,'' Norris said.

New personal locator beacons like the ones used by airplane pilots are also available.

``The beacon is picked up by a satellite, which provides the coordinates showing where the person will be. I haven't run into that yet. It's fairly expensive, but it is available.''

He said the old tried-and-true rules about hikers and campers always telling someone where you are going and when you will be back are very important.

People who go into the wilderness should stay on the trail and wear bright-colored clothing, and preferably go with a partner.

``It's not a good idea to wear camouflage clothing,'' Norris said. ``We've been on calls to search for people wearing camouflage clothing, and you just can't see them. They just blend in to the surrounding environment.''

He said people get lost and injured regardless of how much experience they have.

``It can happen to anyone,'' he said. ``We have the full gamut - the old, young, experienced, inexperienced. We rescue them all. They slip and fall, they get bit by snakes, they climb halfway up a cliff and get stuck. ... That's why we are here.''

Eric Leach, [phone]

eric.leach(at)dailynews.com

WILDERNESS OUTING TIPS

--Always tell someone where you are going and when you will be back. Don't go alone, if possible.

--Wear bright-colored clothing.

--Bring enough food and water and warm clothing to survive being lost overnight or for several days.

--Carry a cellphone or global positioning satellite navigator.

--Bring a mirror to signal your position to a helicopter if you get lost.

CAPTION(S):

4 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color -- ran in Simi edition only) Senior Deputy Scott Norris is a helicopter crew chief with the Ventura County Sheriff's Department Aviation Unit at Camarillo Airport. As summer nears, more people venture into the wilderness and get lost.

(2 -- color -- ran in Simi edition only) The Aviation Unit hoists a ``victim'' during training in the Ventura County back country. Crew chief Scott Norris is on the skids of the chopper, guiding the ``victim.''

(3 -- 4) Senior Deputy Scott Norris, above, is a helicopter crew chief with the Ventura County Sheriff's Department's Aviation Unit. Below, the helicopter crew hoists a ``victim'' from a sheriff's boat during a training exercise.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer

Courtesy of Glenn Grossman

Box:

WILDERNESS OUTING TIPS (see text)