What Drones Really Do for Search and Rescue

A year coordinating Squamish SAR's drone program taught me the real value isn't what I expected

By Dustin Wales  |  Drone Program Coordinator, Squamish Search and Rescue 

When I first took on the role of drone program coordinator for Squamish Search and Rescue, I had big ideas. I imagined the dramatic rescue footage you see on the news: thermal cameras picking up a lost hiker's heat signature in the dark, the SAR team converging on their exact location, a life saved in record time. Finding people faster than ever before. That was the promise of this technology, and I was going to help deliver it.

I wasn't wrong, exactly. But I wasn't right either.

Building Before Flying

The one conviction that stayed consistent from day one was this: before we could chase the big wins, we needed infrastructure. Real infrastructure. Not just equipment, but the framework that makes safe, repeatable operations possible.

That meant Standard Operating Procedures. Training programs. A proper Safety Management System. This wasn't the exciting part. It's not what draws volunteers to search and rescue. But without it, we'd be people with expensive toys hoping for the best.

We did the work. We built the documentation. We trained operators, developed competencies, certified advanced pilots, and ultimately obtained our SFOC from Transport Canada. It took time, and there were moments when I questioned whether all this paperwork was really necessary for a volunteer organization.

It was. The infrastructure didn't just keep us compliant; it made us capable. When you're operating in the chaos of an actual rescue, you don't have time to figure out procedures. You need to trust that the system works, that your team knows their roles, that the equipment has been maintained and tested. That trust comes from preparation.

What a Year of Operations Taught Us

We've been operational since last spring. Squamish SAR is one of the busiest search and rescue organizations in Canada, responding to over 120 calls per year in terrain that includes everything from the granite walls of the Stawamus Chief to the alpine glaciers of Garibaldi Provincial Park. Our drone program has been deployed on numerous tasks, and we've learned a tremendous amount, both from our own operations and from collaborating with other SAR teams across British Columbia.

The biggest lesson? The value of drones in search and rescue isn't just in finding people.

"Reconnaissance is one small part of it. The less understood and more vital role is situational awareness."

Yes, a drone with a thermal camera can spot someone in the dark. That capability is real, and when it works, it's incredible. But that's not the day-to-day reality of how drones actually contribute to SAR operations.

The Real Value: Eyes Where We Can't Be

Consider a rope rescue on a cliff face. You have rescuers preparing to descend, a subject somewhere below, and terrain that's impossible to assess from ground level. Where exactly is the best anchor point? What's the exposure like on the route down? Is there a ledge we can't see that changes the plan?

A drone can answer those questions in minutes. It can identify the best line to throw a rope over a cliff. It can reveal hazards that are invisible from line of sight - loose rock, overhanging sections, a better approach from another direction entirely.

Or think about a night operation. Search teams are working in the dark, trying to navigate complex terrain. A drone equipped with a spotlight can illuminate the scene, providing light exactly where rescuers need it without tying up a helicopter or requiring someone to carry heavy equipment into position.

This is situational awareness. It's not as dramatic as the thermal-camera-finds-missing-hiker story, but it's arguably more valuable. Every rescue involves countless decisions, and better information means better decisions. Drones give us information we simply couldn't get any other way, or couldn't get without significantly more time, risk, or resources.

The Squamish Challenge

It's also important to put this in the context of our region. Squamish sits at the tip of Howe Sound, surrounded by the Coast Mountains. It's been called the outdoor recreation capital of Canada, which is wonderful for those who love climbing, mountain biking, and backcountry adventure, and it's exactly why we're so busy.

The terrain here gets rugged very quickly. People underestimate how fast conditions change between the valley floor and the alpine. What looks like a moderate hike on a trail app can turn into a technical situation requiring ropes, helicopters, and dozens of volunteers. In 2024, our theme was "complex rescues" - long, complicated tasks requiring highly technical skills and multiple agencies working together.

That complexity isn't different for drones. The same coastal mountains that make human SAR challenging also make drone operations challenging. Wind funnelling through valleys. Rapidly changing weather. Terrain that blocks GPS signals. Operating in these conditions requires discipline, proper procedures, and realistic expectations about what the technology can do.

There's no point in having a drone capability that only works on perfect days. The infrastructure we built, the SOPs, the training, the safety systems, exist precisely so we can operate when conditions are difficult. Because that's when SAR calls happen.

What I'd Tell Someone Starting a SAR Drone Program

If another SAR team asked me for advice on starting a drone program, I'd tell them three things.

First, build your infrastructure before you buy equipment. A drone without SOPs is just a liability. Figure out how the technology integrates with your existing operations, who will be trained, how maintenance and airworthiness will be managed, what happens when something goes wrong. Do that work first.

Second, reset your expectations about the "big wins." The dramatic thermal rescue makes great media, and it does happen, but it's not the primary value. The primary value is incremental: better information, safer operations, more efficient use of volunteer time. That adds up over hundreds of calls in ways that are hard to quantify but very real.

Third, think about situational awareness as a capability, not just subject detection. Ask yourself: what questions do we struggle to answer during operations? What information would make our rescuers safer? How can we see things we currently can't see? That's where drones provide consistent, practical value.

The Work Continues

A year in, our drone program is still evolving. We're learning from each deployment, refining our procedures, expanding our capabilities. The team has grown, skills have deepened, and we're now sharing what we've learned with other SAR organizations looking to develop their own programs.

I still believe in the big wins. When we do get that thermal hit and the subject is located safe, it's an incredible feeling. But I've come to appreciate that the technology matters less than how it's integrated into operations. Drones don't save lives by themselves. Trained teams with good procedures save lives. Drones are just one more tool, a powerful one, when used well.

That's the real lesson. Not the technology. The discipline.

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Dustin Wales is the CEO of Aeria Solutions, a remote sensing company specializing in drone operations across Canada, and serves as the Drone Program Coordinator for Squamish Search and Rescue. The views expressed here are his own based on his volunteer work with SSAR.