Kootenai County Sheriff's Department officials were out for one last sweep of the back country on Saturday, before they expected roads to shut down for grooming.

If someone else was stuck out there, that was the time to find them.

And judging by the past few weeks, there was a good chance there might be.

"I don't want to say it's an inconvenience. It's a job that obviously we're responsible to take care of and we're going to take care of," said Sgt. Ryan Higgins. "But it is kind of a burden. It's something that should have been avoided."

County officers have engaged in roughly 10 rescues in the last few weeks to retrieve folks from vehicles trapped in drifts in the Panhandle National Forests, Higgins said, most around the Hayden Creek, Fernan and Bunco trailhead areas.

Folks have also been calling every weekend to report they are trapped but getting help already from a towing service or friend, he said.

On a normal year, the department encounters only one or two such situations, Higgins said.

"Normally, this time of year the mountains are closed, restricted to travel," he explained.

Snowfall hasn't been enough to warrant the Forest Service closing the area off for grooming, he said, and folks interpret the open roads as a sign that all is clear.

Which isn't necessarily true.

"They think the snow isn't deep enough and are riding on top, and once they break through that crust, they're in that soft powder," Higgins said. "Once you break through, you can't get out."

Injuries have been slight among those retrieved, he said, with some mild cases of frost bite and hypothermia.

That doesn't mean the situations feel less egregious when officers go searching, he said.

"We usually don't know where they're at, so we start at point A and keep going," he said, adding that typically two deputies head out together on ATVs or a UTV. "Usually it takes several hours to find these people."

One elderly couple was stumbled across by an active patrol on New Year's, he said. The woman reported difficulty walking, he said.

"They found them at just the right time," he said.

Higgins suggested anyone heading out for a drive should let others know where they're going. If trapped, it's best to stay in the vehicle instead of walking.

With the projected snowfall this week, the back country roads could soon be closed off, he added.

"Once the grooming starts, we expect these calls of service being decreased," Higgins said.