When Every Second Counts Continued from page 67 Photo by David Pope Paul Doherty and Ranger Matt Stark digitize search segment polygons on the first day of the Garmendia search. GIS Gets the Job Done With each new search operation carried out by YOSAR since the adoption of GIS in 2008, GIS has become more of a key component. The successful search for Esmin Garmendia illustrates the many uses of GIS by YOSAR. Garmendia, a 23-year-old man who had visited the park with friends, left the parking area and ventured into the woods alone. He was last seen by his friends at about 3:00 p.m. on June 8, 2008. Garmendia's friends returned from their hike, but when he did not appear after some time, he was reported as a missing person. Soon a full YOSAR operation was under way. At a planning meeting, searchers examined where Garmendia was last seen and where he might have gone. DEM, trail, stream, and vegetation data, as well as local knowledge, was used to generate an appropriate search area. The search area was segmented into manageable and clearly identifiable 68 ArcUser Summer 2009 ArcMap project screen shot taken during the Garmendia search. These segments were assigned to either ground, dog, or helicopter teams based off of slope characteristics. The orange shading highlights the cliff bands of Sentinel Dome where ground teams should avoid the treacherous cliffs. subsections to ensure a new search area would be covered by ground teams, dog teams, and helicopters each day. GIS was used to determine where to place teams in the field. Using the same layers that were used to predict Garmendia's travel, teams were strategically placed to best cover their assigned terrain and ensure that the maximum search area was sufficiently covered. For example, YOSAR used slope data from a DEM of the park to assign technical teams to areas having a slope of more than 45 degrees and dog-assisted ground teams to safer, flatter terrain. In the past, YOSAR staff read the contours on standard quadrangle maps and estimated slope of the terrain. However, with this objective tool for determining slope, decision makers could spend time on other operational, planning, and logistical functions. Next, a briefing was held to communicate search and rescue operation plans to all teams and individuals involved. Incident action plan (IAP) maps were generated to show possible search areas and list objectives. These 8.5" x 11" maps contain metadata such as map scale, title, author, and the date the data was generated. These maps included the point location where Garmendia was last seen; search buffer zones (created using GIS analysis); and www.esri.com Map by Paul Doherty A myriad of data is built and maintained by the National Park Service and the YOSAR GIS team. This includes vector data for roads, streams, trails, park buildings, vegetation, and helispot locations. Raster data includes digital elevation models (DEMs), which supply a three-dimensional surface with topographic features; digital raster graphics (DRGs), which are high-quality scanned images of U.S. Geological Survey quad maps that provide contour lines and detailed terrain information; and 2005 National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) aerial imagery. During a search incident, Doherty works with YOSAR search incident data to generate additional data such as search area polygons; search segments/assignments; clues (i.e., point last seen, footprints, litter, and trail interviews); viewshed analyses; and GPS tracks from helicopters, ground crews, and dog teams. ArcMap project screen shot of the Garmendia search segments, a "clue" database, status of search segments, and Yosemite National Park base data used to create search assignments Map by Paul Doherty