Helicopter War Could Cause 'Horrible Disaster' OC Supervisor Says

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA — When a hiker calls in 911, it's anyone's guess who will arrive to save them. Will it be the Sheriff's Duke helicopters? Or OCFA? In the skies of Orange County, it's a race to see who will save the lost, the injured and the dehydrated hikers.

Search and Rescue teams from both Orange County Sheriff's Department and Orange County Fire Authority have taken on a game of "chicken" that Orange County supervisors are concerned will only end in self-destruction.

On Tuesday, the leaders of Orange County's sheriff and fire departments have been summoned to appear before the Board of Supervisors Tuesday out of concern that the helicopter war raging between the agencies may lead to an in-flight collision.

Supervisor Todd Spitzer said he is also concerned that sheriff's deputies might start arresting Orange County Fire Authority pilots in the fight over who should conduct air rescues, the Orange County Register reported.

But this conversation and the feud that inspired it has a long history between the agencies. Not quite a week ago, a mountain bike rescue showed that two responding helicopter agencies is one too many, when OCFA medics arrived to airlift an injured man, as they waved off the responding OCSD chopper.

"The man suffered acute injuries and (was) packaged up by OCFA," Capt. Larry Kurtz told Patch. According to the report, the patient suffered critical neck injuries and was airlifted out to an area hospital.

That day, the OCFA rescue personnel were first to the scene to conduct the air hoist rescue in the Cleveland National Forest. The fact that OCSD also responded could be seen as overkill, a waste of resources or another incident in the ongoing game of chicken the departments are playing.

This, after a heated debate between the Sheriff's Department and Orange County Fire Authority on whose job it is to conduct search and rescue operations in Orange County. The concern, OCFA has said, relates to how victims are airlifted, either vertically or horizontally, as well as the need of paramedic response for injury victims that only they can provide.

Last week, Sheriff Sandra Hutchens released a report saying that the agreement between the agencies was over, and that the Sheriff's Department was going to be the primary provider for area search and rescue missions. OCFA agents disagree, wholeheartedly, though Hutchens stated that she remained "committed to working collaboratively with the OCFA."

It's been two years since the sheriff's and fire pilots have waged a public dispute, sometimes racing each other to get their helicopters to rescue scenes.

"That kind of behavior is going to cause a horrible, horrible disaster," Spitzer said, according to the Register.

Last week, Spitzer and Supervisor Shawn Nelson called Sheriff Sandra Hutchens and fire authority Chief Pat McIntosh to appear at Tuesday's board meeting. Spitzer said he wants leaders of the two agencies to clarify what role each plays in rescuing victims found in wilderness and beach areas.

The bad blood between agencies has continued, raising to a boiling point after the Canyon Fire 2 open criticism of OCFA by an OCSD medic, who claimed that OCFA dropped the ball with the handling of that fire. Jim Slikker, a highly decorated retired sheriff's deputy and marine rescue operator, is now a listed as an OCSD medic, the one who retrieves victims and hoists them to safety.

For now, it's anyone's game as far as who will get to the scene first.

Read also:

OCSD - OCFA Helicopter Debacle Continues

OCSD And OCFA Helicopter Debacle: Search-And-Rescue Roles Hang Midair

OCFA Photo