OGDEN- When hikers become disoriented on steep terrain and call for help, Weber County Search and Rescue sends the fastest member of its search team – not a climber on foot, but a high-flying drone.
Equipped with zoom and infrared cameras, these devices now often do the bulk of the search work. They reach stranded hikers faster than a helicopter and the cost per flight is lower, say search and rescue leaders in Weber County.
With the help of these devices, people in distress – and even dogs – could be located within minutes and a safe course for the rescue teams to descend could then be determined.
“This is an absolute game changer,” said Kyle Nordfors, drone team coordinator for Weber County Search and Rescue. “We have the latest technology to leverage that allows us to find people faster and get to them faster, saving lives.”
Kyle Nordfors of the Weber County Search and Rescue Team says American-made drones are less capable and more expensive than those made by DJI in China. (KSL TV)
Weber County Sheriff’s Lt. Mark Horton agrees.
“We’re probably two, maybe three hours on an incident, whereas before it might have been four or five hours,” said Horton, who leads the county’s search and rescue operations.
The added efficiency has been helpful as demand has increased, Horton said. In 2017, the team was called out to rescues 11 times. That number rose to 42 in 2020 and 48 last year — an average of nearly one per week, according to sheriff’s office figures.
So what’s wrong with this technology? For some members of Congress, it’s the fact that a popular brand is made by a Chinese company, DJI. Out of concern for national security, the House of Representatives introduced a bill in June that would ban these drones.
DJI critics fear that the Chinese government could access personal data from an app that controls the drones. But DJI claims its systems are secure. In a statement to KSL, the company explained that customers do not need to use its software to fly their drones and that they do not need to connect to the internet at all.
“We simply have no evidence to suggest that DJI drones send sensitive data to unauthorized parties,” the company said in a statement.
If the proposal passes and becomes law, the use of new models of DJI drones will be banned from that point on – something that worries Nordfors. He said the company’s models are his favorites for good reason.
“With drones made in the US, the technology is not there and the production capacity is simply not there,” Nordfors said.
The Weber County team first began using drones in 2018. Horton said it now uses two drones for its rescue operations: A DJI model cost about $23,500 and was purchased through donations and fundraising. Another model was purchased from the county sheriff’s office for about $13,600, Horton said.
KSL investigators spoke with other counties that have search and rescue teams in operation. Washington, Kane and Grand counties told KSL they also rely on these drones, which means they are in use in the Utah wilderness — at least for now.
Contribute: Emiley Dewey, KSL TV
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