PRIEST LAKE — When Priest Lake Search and Rescue started in 2001, its ability to assist local residents and work shoulder-to-shoulder with the sheriff’s office was tied to technologies that few millennials could fathom using regularly. A mere 16 years ago, things like social media, smartphones, wireless internet, and drones were unheard of outside Silicon Valley laboratories. Today, PLSAR founder Mike Nielsen can proudly point to a 100-member strong active force of dedicated volunteers who utilize a radio network on par with the county sheriff’s.

But Nielsen wants to fully bring PLSAR and its life-saving mission into the digital age.

As any resident or visitor to Priest Lake knows, the area has plenty of spots that are hard to reach. Cellular phone coverage is nonexistent in many locations. The combination of inaccessibility and communications silence can add many hours to critical situations where recreationists have gone missing in the backcountry, Nielsen said. The situation is similar in some other parts of Bonner County and adjacent Boundary County. PLSAR is charged with assisting all of Bonner County, Nielsen said, and is able to reach some parts of Boundary County much faster than first responders from that jurisdiction thanks to geographical and roadway limitations.

Nielsen wants to raise funds to put up additional radio towers in the area, which would cost more than $5,000 each and would extend PLSAR’s communications reach into areas that are currently radio dead spots. He also said he wants to raise money to buy a rugged drone that can do just about what a military drone would. A drone equipped with a serious thermal imaging system, which would range upwards of $15,000, would give rescuers the ability to remotely locate lost humans and distinguish thermal images of large game, such as bears, from collapsed recreationists, said Nielsen.

For example, the technological capabilities of nearby Two Bear Air have proven invaluable to people in need, said Nielsen. He added that the Montana-based helicopter search and rescue organization donates its services to PLSAR.

Nielsen said he hopes Verizon installs a second cell phone tower in the area. Triangulating a signal with only one tower can lead to signal location errors of as much as 15 miles, he said, while using two towers would narrow the search for a signal to within one mile.

In the meantime, he invited interested citizens to consider joining the PLSAR team.

Membership in the all-volunteer organization is not simply a credential to add to one’s resume, as he explained that he is looking for people “dedicated to serve, and willing to work as a team,” who are not merely puffing their egos. Nielsen praised the organization’s members for their contributions to local safety.

According to the PLSAR website, “Members are trained in ICS, NIMS and Haz-Mat. The Team’s command element has completed advanced training to allow it to serve as overhead within a Type-III ICS Team. This expands the team’s role and capabilities to assist when first responder (Fire, Medical, and Law Enforcement) resources are overwhelmed and/or need additional support, (e.g., airplane/school bus crash, fire, flood, evacuations, or other major incident/disaster, whether man-made or natural.)”

To learn more or to volunteer, go to plsar.com or contact Nielsen at 208-946-7664 or [email protected].