RESCUE TEAMS GEAR UP FOR HIKING SEASON.

Byline: ERIC LEACH Staff Writer

Ventura County's search-and-rescue season has officially begun.

So far this year, 68 people have been rescued in Ventura County Sheriff's Department helicopters in the Los Padres National Forest and Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation area -- 13 in June alone.

And with summer here, those numbers are expected to climb.

``The weather in Ventura County is great, and an awful lot of people enjoy the recreation opportunities with the beaches and mountains,'' sheriff's Capt. Ron Nelson said. ``But sometimes they get into trouble.''

In 2005, search-and-rescue teams gave medical attention to 143 people, according to department records. In 2004, the helicopter unit attended to 163 people.

The Sheriff's Department has four helicopters used for lifting people out of steep canyons and other remote locations. They are equipped with infrared sensors for nighttime searches.

Deputies are trained in swift-water rescues, diving and special rescue situations that might occur in the ocean, the mountains or in urban settings.

And the rescues spike in late spring and summer, said Deputy Carl Patterson of the sheriff's Aviation/Search and Rescue Unit.

``More people are out and more people get lost or hurt,'' he said. ``They sometimes get lost, and panic sets in, so their chances of getting hurt increases.''

The department has help from volunteer citizen search-and-rescue teams, including one based in Ojai, one in Fillmore and one in southeast Ventura County.

``If we can't find them in the helicopter, the volunteers sometimes wind up spending the night and search day after day,'' Patterson said.

Craig Brentin of Camarillo is the captain of the East Valley Search-and-Rescue Team, which includes 30 men and women and focuses on the Santa Monica Mountains, Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, but often helps out in the Los Padres National Forest and even the High Sierra.

Brentin's team was one of the first to arrive at the La Conchita mudslide that killed 10 people in January 2005, and the team also worked in recovery efforts after the Alaska Airlines crash off the Ventura County coast that killed 83 passengers and five crew members in January 2000.

``We put in an average 40 hours a month doing this,'' he said. ``We stay highly trained and have packs of equipment ready to leave at a moment's notice, even in the middle of the night.''

Brentin is a technical director with Dreamworks Animation, and his team includes other filmmakers, building contractors, aerospace engineers and even a rocket scientist.

They all receive support from their companies, which allow them to work with the team in emergencies.

``The overdue-hiker report usually comes in at around 11 p.m.,'' Brentin said. ``We usually find them and bring them back before the sun comes up. Then we go home, shower and go to work.''

In the Ojai and Fillmore areas, hikers frequently get lost or injured in the Sespe and Rose Valley areas.

In southeastern Ventura County they tend to get into trouble in the Rocky Peak area north of Santa Susana Pass and in the Boney Mountain area of the Santa Monica Mountains.

Some of the department's recent operations included the rescue of a 20-year-old La Verne man who fell 80 feet into a creek near the Sespe River June 13; a 19-year-old Ojai man man who fell June 25 about 100 feet from Rose Valley Falls in the Los Padres National Forest, landing on some rocks, where he had several broken bones; and a 52-year-old mountain biker who crashed Thursday on the Rosewood Trail between Newbury Park and Hidden Valley.

Two 13-year-old boys were rescued uninjured June 22 along Sespe Creek above Fillmore after they became separated from the father of one of the teenagers on a five-day hike.

And two Los Angeles men were rescued June 26 by the sheriff's helicopter from the ocean at Point Mugu, where they were swept off the rocks by the surf.

Although people often go into the wilderness areas seeking nature's simple pleasures, more and more of them are carrying high-tech equipment like cell phones, global positioning satellite navigators and even satellite phones that have worldwide coverage.

``It's been very helpful for us that so many people have GPS (navigators) and cell phones,'' Patterson said. ``A lot of those hard-core backpackers or hikers have satellite phones, and the coverage of cell phones is getting better and better, so they do pretty well.''

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SAFETY TIPS

The Ventura County Sheriff's Department recommends people take precautions when they go on excursions into the county's back country. Among these precautions:

Make sure you take a map of the area, a compass or a GPS navigator.

Check weather forecasts and be prepared for weather changes.

Take plenty of food and water.

Let someone know your route and when you expect to be back.

Carry a satellite or cell phone along with a flashlight.

Stay on designated, marked trails and don't deviate from the planned route.

If you become lost, don't continue to wander about the wilderness because it makes it more difficult for rescuers to locate you.

The Sheriff's Department suggests people visit www.vcsar.org, www.vcsar1.org or www.ojaisar.org for more hiking tips and a copy of the department's hiking plan.

CAPTION(S):

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Photo:

(1 -- color) The Ventura County Sheriff's Department uses four helicopters, specially trained deputies and citizen search-and-rescue volunteers to respond to hundreds of calls a year from people who get injured or lost.

(2) The deputies and volunteers are trained in rescue situations that might occur in the ocean, the mountains or in urban settings. The southeast Ventura team includes 30 men and women who focus on the Santa Monica Mountains, Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, but often help out in the Los Padres National Forest.

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SAFETY TIPS (see text)