Butte County is proud to have one of the premier K9 team in Northern California, comprised of motivated and dedicated canines and handlers. Each team can specialize in wilderness and area search, trailing, cadaver, water and firearms detection. Many of our K9 teams also belong to the California Rescue Dog Assn, and respond to other counties in mutual aid searches.

Butte County is the only county north of Sacramento with a helicopter program, and Search and Rescue is fortunate to have use of both of the Sheriff's helicopters - a military OH-58 (Bell Jet Ranger) and an OH-6 (MD-500). Both aircraft are available night and day and provide a platform for technical air rescue on both land and water, as well as an observation platform for searching lost or missing persons. Our "Helo Techs" are famous for providing short-haul rescue, where a rescuer is inserted into a location via a 100 ft. line and extracts a victim back to safety. This type of rescue can bring medical care to a patient down from several hours to a matter of minutes.

As the Land of Natural Wealth and Beauty, Butte County has a variety of lakes, rivers, and creeks that provide an incredible amount of recreation to its citizens. Search and Rescue is fully prepared with our highly skilled Swiftwater Rescue Team to respond to any type of water rescue in the county. Some of these calls may include boating or tubing accidents on the Sacramento River, vehicles driven into moving water, or rescues during flood disasters.

The DART team provides rescue for drowning victims in all bodies of water. The team is comprised of certified rescue divers, skilled in the search and recovery of persons trapped under water. Situations can include drowning in lakes or rivers, including submerged vehicles in water.

Our technical rescue team responds to any call involving persons over a cliff or inaccessible areas. This can include hikers who have fallen down an embankment to vehicles driven into a canyon. The team is proficient in all aspects of rope rescue and routinely trains with local and county Fire Departments through BIRG.

Due to Butte County's varying geography, Search and Rescue is prepared for conducting searches in all types of terrain and climates. Members are trained in wilderness survival and routinely traverse the far reaches of the county. Our various types of equipment reflect Butte County's geography, and members routinely train in the remote areas they serve.

While all members specialize in search techniques, many have continued their education in Search Management. This team is able to carefully plan, conduct, and manage all types and sizes of searches whether it's a lost child, a person with Alzheimer's disease who has wandered away from home or a hiker who is overdue returning home.

The Communications Unit provides radio solutions to both Search & Rescue and any other agency who makes the request. The unit is comprised of over a dozen skilled radio enthusiasts, many who are Ham Radio operators, and specialize in command, tactical, and interoperable communications. The unit maintains a high frequency "HF" radio station at the Sheriff's Office, able to communicate to any other county or state agency independent of telephones or power. The unit also runs two Ham Radio repeaters that provide emergency communications coverage into remote areas of the county. Also in its arsenal of equipment are two Comm vehicles, both stocked with equipment to provide communications to nearly any agency, anywhere in the County.