MONTROSE

Rescue helicopters could be grounded

Patrol flights have been cut from daily to four days a week. Montrose Search and Rescue Team members hold news conference to request more funding.

By Gretchen Hoffman

June 4 2002

ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST -- Helicopters considered to be an integral part of search-and-rescue efforts in the Angeles National Forest have been grounded three days a week since the end of March to save money.

In another month, they could be out of service indefinitely.

A 2002-03 budget plan proposed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors would cut $100 million from the Sheriff's Department budget, effective July 1. Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies and members of the Montrose Search and Rescue Team held a news conference Monday at Verdugo Hills Hospital to draw attention to the funding dilemma.

Although they said Sheriff Lee Baca supports the program, his hands are tied. The cuts have to be made somewhere, and in units that are not mandated by law.

The Board of Supervisors, however, could decide to reinstate funding for certain programs, and those slated to be cut are vying for attention.

Jean Houston, justice deputy for Supervisor Michael Antonovich, could not be reached for comment. Antonovich has voiced his opposition to cutting the sheriff's department budget.

If the budget cut goes through as proposed, the decision of what to cut, ultimately, is Baca's, and he has announced a list of units that will be slashed or completely eliminated.

Among those slated for cutbacks is the Aero Bureau, which includes the three H-3 helicopters used for everything from transporting SWAT teams and divers to bioterrorism threats within a 500-mile radius. All three helicopters would be grounded.

They are also widely used in rescue missions in the Angeles National Forest, and with a maximum speed of 166 mph, can cut down transport time from hours to minutes. It is a self-contained unit, with paramedics and a life-support system.

"We feel that public safety should be priority No. 1 in the budget process," Montrose Search and Rescue team spokesman Mike Leum said. "The idea that all of the departments should share the pain is ludicrous when we're talking about people's lives that categorically would be lost."

"Without the helicopters, people would die, without a doubt," Leum said.

The helicopter rescue program was founded in 1956, and a portion of its funding comes from the Air Rescue Five Foundation, said former deputy and reserve deputy Dave Rathbun. The nonprofit organization was founded in 1996 after budget cuts threatened funding.

"This is not the time to cut public safety," Rathbun said. "With the threats to homeland security, it's the wrong choice at the wrong time."