When the bridge that connects 麻豆精选 to West 麻豆精选 was closed for seven hours on Monday, Jan. 27 due to a threat of explosives, many people were forced to seek alternate routes to access the other side of Okanagan Lake.
Some took to the air in helicopters, others travelled through the water by boats and many got in vehicles and drove to reach the other side of Okanagan Lake. Of those that stuck to the land, approximately six people attempted to take a shortcut between Penticton and 麻豆精选 on Forest Service Road 201 鈥� instead of driving the perimeter of the lake 鈥� and ended up stuck in the deep and fresh snow.
"When we see someone in need, we load up and go out," said Luke Pittman, one of six off-road recovery drivers who spent their Monday on a volunteer rescue mission.
"It is just what I do. People should all help each-other," he said when asked why he would dedicate his entire day, pay for fuel and take on the risk of travelling in the mountains in the winter to help strangers.
Pittman, who is based in Peachland, accessed the Forest Service Road from the Penticton area while other members of the off-road recovery group entered the 麻豆精选 side, where another four vehicles were stuck in the snow.
Pittman has been volunteering and working as an off-road recovery driver for the past six years and has experience recovering all sorts of vehicles in precarious and remote situations that regular tow trucks cannot access. Often, he and the other members of the off-road recovery group work in collaboration with Search and Rescue teams, like Central Okanagan Search and Rescue (COSAR). Pittman said that after COSAR rescues a stranded person, the vehicle recovery crew will come in with their specialized equipment and tow the stuck vehicle out to safety.
However, even with upwards of a hundred recoveries to his name, Pittman was surprised by one of the vehicles that needed help on Forest Service Road 201 鈥� a loaded dump truck.
The large dump truck had been on its own rescue mission, determined to help a neighbour who was stuck in the snowy mountainous terrain before it too was halted by the treacherous road conditions.
Pittman was able to use his specialized buggy to pull the dump truck, and the other stuck vehicle, free.
"I get a lot of calls for really crazy recoveries since I can access areas that tow trucks cannot," he said, adding that the dump truck was one of the most interesting rescues he has been a part of.
Earlier in January, Pittman pulled five stuck vehicles from a forest service road in West 麻豆精选 in one day. He credits the reliable abilities of his rig to the skilled work of the employees at Jeklefab Garage in Lake Country and 麻豆精选 Transmission.
Fellow outdoorsman, environmental advocate and founder of the Okanagan Forest Task Force, Kane Blake, was unable to assist in the Jan. 27 rescues and instead used his skills and resources to mobilize and organize the crew of off-road recovery drivers.
"I would really like to thank the people who went out to help," said Blake. He said that as volunteers, the rescuers risk damage to their rigs, have to pay for fuel and spend hours out in the cold to help people get their vehicles home safely.
"This is what they do. They have all the proper equipment. They're always pulling people out," said Blake.
Blake spends hundreds of hours each year removing trash from the Okanagan's back-country with OFTF and also helps on vehicle rescues when he can with the off-road recovery groups.
"We are all volunteers and we run off donations," said Blake.
The OFTF is holding their annual fundraiser on April 19, at the Kal Tire on Leckie Road in 麻豆精选 and is looking for donations for raffle prizes.
People in need of a recovery are welcome to text Pittman at 250-804-8065 or message him directly on Facebook. If people are in any danger they should always call 911 first.
