Pay for rescues? It'€™s past time people pay for their mistakes

Yes, the Mat-Su Borough should charge people when they have to be saved from misadventures in the wilderness. Of course, that’s a drop in the bucket compared to other agencies, such as Alaska State Troopers, which oversees many of the rescue operations around here.

People have become too comfortable about traipsing off into unknown — even known — country without proper preparation of themselves and machines or equipment they need to be safe.

It likely started with cell phones. Get in trouble on the highway, call for help. Pickup gets stuck in the mud, call a buddy. People start believing, no matter what happens, help is only a call away.

Then came global positioning systems.

Even in the deep woods, somebody can find the most lost among us. Send in a helicopter.

There’s simply not enough fear among the adventurous anymore. There isn’t enough planning. There are too few trip plans left behind with family or friends.

The borough’s rescue effort is mostly confined to its dive team and a few four-wheelers. The dive team does get called out a lot in the summer.

Remember the teenagers who became stuck in the Matanuska River when they tried crossing it in a car? Somebody should have picked up the tab on that one.

There are few occasions when somebody needs to be rescued when it wasn’t their fault. If people have to start paying a few hundred dollars for having their fanny saved, so be it.

There are those who think rescue payments will cause people not to summon for help for fear of being held for the bill.

Well, that’s a decision they have to make; one they should have considered before heading out.

The borough, troopers, cities and volunteer groups should all be paid for saving people who have gotten themselves in trouble by stretching their bodies beyond their capabilities, or not preparing for bad things to happen.

The wilderness is not for everybody, but too few understand that concept.

The one item not in the discussion, though, is the potential loss of life by the people doing the rescuing.

What’s the monetary value of a dead EMT or helicopter pilot?

Adventurers need to do a better job of learning about their trip, understanding equipment and survival needs. That’s the boring part of the adventure, but it’s better than having to call for help and assuming help will come.