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Montgomery County special operations team reviews trainings, flood responses and state swift‑water proposal
Summary
The county Special Operations Team reported recent rope and rescue trainings, deployments for localized flooding and a mountain hiker rescue, and said a state offer to form a Type 3 swift‑water team would require more local work before committing to a joint team.
Montgomery County’s Special Operations Team reported recent trainings and flood responses and said it will continue discussions with state officials about joining a proposed state Type 3 swift‑water team but is not ready to commit.
The Special Operations Team gave the update at the commission’s August meeting, describing a low‑angle rope training session on Aug. 3, several flood responses in Plum Creek and Walton, and a multi‑agency extraction of an injured hiker at Allegheny Springs.
The update matters because the team is one of the county’s organized emergency response resources used for technical rescues and flood incidents. The team said its recent full‑team meeting focused on communications and planning, and that the group plans to meet monthly before the commission meeting at 5 p.m.
A Special Operations Team member told the commission that two state officials reached out proposing a new state Type 3 swift‑water team for the New River Valley, an initiative described as coming from the governor’s office to place more swift‑water resources in parts of Southwest Virginia that face flash‑flood risk. The representative said, “we don’t feel that we’re at a point where we’re ready to do that. We will continue to talk to them and see if it’s something that … we can explore,” and characterized the proposal as a potential long‑term goal rather than an immediate change.
The team said about 20 members attended the low‑angle rope training, which covered rigging, patient packaging and road‑rescue fundamentals, and that members and local fire departments assisted with flooding incidents this summer. The team also reported that Blacksburg Search and Rescue assisted with the Allegheny Springs hiker extraction.
Commissioners asked for any questions and heard no immediate commitments; the team said it will continue conversations with state officials and revisit the proposal as the team’s capabilities and resources evolve.
The commission did not take formal action on the state proposal at the meeting; the item was presented as a report and a point for future discussion.
