News

2025 SARVAC Humanitarian Workforce Wildfire Operations Recap 

July 15 – August 29, 2025 More than 179 trained Ground Search and Rescue (GSAR) volunteers from across Canada answered the call to support wildfire response. Deployment Highlights Manitoba 107 responders 783 person-days Newfoundland & Labrador 88 responders 656...

Humanitarian Workforce (HWF) Deployment Update

This week, our final rotations remained fully engaged with operational tasks while preparing for demobilization. Some SARVAC HWF responders from Nova Scotia returned home on short notice to support their own communities facing active wildfire emergencies. Meanwhile,...

SARVAC Humanitarian Workforce Program (HWF) Update – NL and MB Deployments

📍 Newfoundland & Labrador: Since the start of this week, the National Incident Support Team (NIST) has been activated, and SARVAC HWF response planning is ongoing. Mission Ready Group NL Rotation 1 has been selected. Travel is arranged, a Base of Operations has...

Wildfire National Response Update

Actively Monitoring in Newfoundland & Supporting Operations in Winnipeg from the HWF Team As the first week of August comes to a close, wildfires in Newfoundland and Labrador have prompted a State of Emergency and Evacuation Order, with the Holyrood Fire still...

WEEK 2 UPDATE | Manitoba Wildfire Evacuation Support 

SARVAC’s Humanitarian Workforce Program (HWF) continues to maintain a steady presence on the ground in Winnipeg, supporting wildfire evacuees across Manitoba. Following the successful launch of operations earlier this month, Rotation #2 has now completed its...

New Hug-A-Tree and Survive Video

Exciting news! SARVAC is pleased to launch a newly revised version of the Hug-A-Tree and Survive video which is now available on AdventureSmart.ca in both official languages. The new video incorporates the use of an emergency shelter, which is consistent with the...

Mabel Lake, BC – Missing Women

In the early morning of November 11th, 2015, Vernon Search and Rescue was called out to search for two missing women in the Mabel Lake - Kingfisher area, east of Enderby, BC, Canada. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhvY5F8ncKM

Prince Edward Island Ground SAR

Search and Rescue began on Prince Edward Island in 1995 with the establishment of a search and rescue team in West Prince, P.E.I.. The team was created in response to a missing person's case when trained searchers had to be brought in from out of province.  Cst. Terry...

New Brunswick Ground SAR

What began as a letter published in 1983 in the Fredericton newspaper as a desire to have a trained team to respond to lost person emergencies, turned into the creation of the first New Brunswick team on December 20, 1983.  Since it's initial formation, NB Ground...

Nova Scotia Ground SAR

Search and Rescue in Nova Scotia started officially in November of 1969 after a 5 day search in the Cape Breton Highlands for a father of 5, who was found alive. While he was in the hospital recovering, Cape Breton Search and Rescue was created. Since then another 23...

Newfoundland and Labrador SAR

  Newfoundland and Labrador is Canada’s most easterly province, with Cape Spear recognized as the most easterly point in North America. The island portion of the province is the tenth largest island in the world. At 111,390 square kilometres, it rivals, in area,...

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