- Search and rescue teams in Utah brace for a busy season due to warm weather.
- Michael Finger emphasizes early trail activity and longer seasons.
- He advises safety precautions like checking weather and avoiding swift, cold waters.
SANDY — With unseasonably warm weather, more people are heading outside, and search and rescue crews are preparing for a busy season.
"I think going into weather like this, it's going to pick up pretty quick," said Michael Finger, an 18-year member of the Salt Lake County sheriff's search and rescue team.
Over the weekend, Finger and other search and rescue team members responded to Big Cottonwood Canyon, where a male hiker slipped and fell near Donut Falls. He had minor injuries, according to officials. Finger said the canyon looked nothing like it usually does in March.
"It felt like summer," he told KSL. "It was beautiful. It was crowded. There was people everywhere."
More people are out and about as Utah has been dealing with persistent warm temperatures and, in some cases, record heat.
"People are going to be hitting the trail earlier," Finger said. "It's going to be a longer season, I think."
No one thinks they need help from search and rescue until they do. That's why Finger said it's important to take certain steps to avoid trouble when recreating outside.
"If you get caught out after dark and the weather's wet, you can get hypothermic and get in trouble pretty fast," he said.
To that end, Finger recommends being aware of the time — remembering that it still gets darker several hours earlier than in the summer — and checking the weather, making sure to take a light source and warm clothing into the mountains.
When there's still snow on the ground and the sun goes down, he added, "it gets cold pretty fast."
For anyone less experienced, consider a lower-elevation hike that's less snowy and less dangerous.
"Do it now when it's 70 out," Finger said, "not when it's 105 in July."
Finally, as the snow melts, be careful of running creeks and streams — especially with children.
"Stay away from the water," Finger said. "It's cold and swift."
