Los Alamos Search and Rescue (LASAR) is a 501c3 charitable organization, incorporated in New Mexico in 2023. It was formed in order to widely benefit search and rescue (SAR) activities for all teams in Los Alamos and across the state. LASAR also serves as an assembly of SAR resources that are otherwise overlooked or underutilized, such as mountain bikers, dirt bikers, serious off-road vehicle owners, drone pilots, as well as the volunteers that participate at Incident Base as part of the Incident Management Team.
It is a quirk of the general New Mexico SAR organization that the high-level volunteers who manage and direct the searches are often “teamless.” Here, we’re referring to the Incident Commander, Section Chiefs, the Ordering Manager, radio operator, mapping guru, and anyone else who may provide dedicated Incident Base support without going out into the field. These folks operate as private individuals, often without the benefit of a parent team to help fund essential equipment and expenses.
Incident Base operations require specialized equipment and the equipment plays a crucial role in finding and saving lives. For example: a 50-ft tall extendable fiberglass radio antenna mast dramatically improves the communication range to teams but costs upwards of $400. Moreover, as the available tools and technology improve, the costs associated with outfitting Incident Base are increasing. To date, that equipment is typically purchased with the personal funds of those unpaid volunteers that staff Incident Base.
LASAR exists to plug these gaps in the SAR needs of New Mexico. This may include equipment for Incident Base operations, extra radios for NM SAR teams that cannot afford them, Garmin inReach satellite devices for team tracking, subscription to mapping software, etc.
We believe that SAR responders should have the best equipment possible to improve the ability to save lives and access to that equipment should not require a financial burden on the volunteer. We believe that volunteers should not need to be privately wealthy and should not need to privately fund specialized SAR equipment in order to provide the best SAR public services that New Mexico can offer.
New Mexicans are grateful for the volunteers that show up in the middle of the night to save them, proud of the efficient and functional SAR system in our state, and generous in their giving to support SAR activities. Our organization exists to turn the generous charity of NM state citizens into direct, practical support for the volunteers that donate their time to save lives.