Search and Rescue leader Brian Baskin. Photos by Catherine Stachowiak
Brian Baskin from the Kern Valley Search and Rescue spoke at the Kern Valley Exchange Club luncheon, Thursday July 25, at Paradise Cove Lodge, about the needs of the organization, in particular a new truck, which the entity has been raising money for, long term.
“Thank you guys for inviting me. I’m the president and captain of Kern Valley Search and Rescue.”
The organization’s truck is nearly 20 years old, and the organization will eventually need to be replaced. Baskin said, “Right now Rivernook is the biggest supporter of that, with tens of thousands of dollars going towards that.”
The organization has been saving up money to replace the vehicle for eight years.
A new truck to replace the older one will cost nearly $200,000. The county does not fund that project.
His team was the first Search and Rescue team, in Kern County, which began in 1955.
Baskin’s team is also affiliated with the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, yet independent as an entity, and independent, as a nonprofit, of the sheriffs in funding.
No one gets paid to serve with Search and Rescue. It is a volunteer organization.
This year alone the Search and Rescue said there were six drownings in the county. The organization also rescued 20 people from the river.
Kern Valley Search and Rescue also covers thousands of miles worth of trail, the longest section in the country without water.
They will never stop searching for anyone and always conduct a continuous search.
Resources, the organization has access to include boats, rescue swimmers, and helicopters.
Baskin stressed the fact that the public ought to use life vests in the river.
The Kern Valley Exchange Club awarded the Kern Valley Search and Rescue a financial donation.
