Image: Derrick Kramer

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Backcountry rescue

Chilliwack SAR, heli execute backcountry rescue Tuesday evening (VIDEO)

Jul 16, 2025 | 7:43 AM

CHILLIWACK — Doing what they do best, Valley Helicopter out of Hope and Chilliwack Search and Rescue personnel were tasked with a rescue mission involving an injured person Tuesday evening in the Chilliwack River Valley.

According to Chilliwack River Valley resident Derrick Kramer, who captured videos and still images of the incident, rescue personnel converged on Chilliwack Lake Road after an individual, possibly a hiker, dislocated their shoulder at Lindeman Lake and needed assistance.

Image: Derrick Kramer / Chilliwack Search and Rescue members.

Valley Helicopter descended on a landing pad near Post Creek as part of the rescue mission.

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Speaking of the landing pad and its strategic location, Kramer said, “It’s absolutely (meant) to save lives. It (provides) so much assistance to rescue and help people in this valley. They (SAR crews) were so appreciative today.”

Valley Helicopters has been tasked with a number of public safety incidents in just the first two weeks of July. Earlier this month, Hope Volunteer Search and Rescue say they were dispatched on Monday, July 7 for the report of a stranded hiker on Needle Peak. The summit is located northeast of Hope, and east of the Coquihalla Highway. With the assistance of Valley Helicopters, SAR members were able to hover exit on a saddle between Markhor and Needle where they were then able to access the subject and assist them back to aa collection point.

“We would like to remind hikers to thoroughly research the trails before heading out and to understand that public reviews on trails do not always reflect the experience level required for the trail,” Hope SAR said on social media.

On Friday, July 4, Mounties arriving to help other first responders for a fire in Hope heard a man yelling for help. Once the fire was contained in the area, police say search and rescue crews found a 27-year-old man stranded on the face of a cliff. The man was taken out by a Valley Helicopter-piloted long line and wasn’t hurt.

That same day (Friday, July 4), Valley Helicopters helped battle a small wildfire that ignited earlier in the week just south of Highway 1 in Hope.