Welcome to the mountains! Enjoy your stay in Georgia's highest city or Scaly Mountain on the Highlands Plateau, one of the few temperate rain forests in North America. Hike up some of the highest mountains and roughest wilderness east of the Mississippi. Enjoy our cool nights around a camp fire and marvel at the biodiversity of the many wild animals and plants. We constantly train for emergency rescue and extraction but hope these skills are never needed. Unfortunately, that is not the case.
Don't let a careless mistake ruin your vacation. Every year, the Sky Valley - Scaly Mountain Fire and Rescue Department is dispatched to rescue visitors from dangers that could have been avoided. Venomous snake bites, falling down a waterfall, drownings in the swift flowing rivers, getting lost and overexertion are a few of the dangers. You can protect yourself and loved ones by following simple and common sense rules.
Getting lost and getting found. Always let someone know where you are going and when you expect to return. If you get lost or have an emergency and have cell phone coverage, call 911 and STAY AT THAT LOCATION. When you call dispatch, the coordinates of your phone are sent to the Search and Rescue Team. DO NOT MOVE FROM THE LOCATION FROM WHICH YOU CALLED! The SAR Team will go to that location.
Snake bites. Always be on the look out for snakes. It is not unusual to see a rattlesnake or copperhead sunning itself in the middle of the trail. Never put your hand of foot where you can not see clearly. Be extra carefull stepping over logs.
Forest fires. Don't leave fires unattended. Fully extinguish the coals before you leave, Fires are especially dangerous in the spring before the woods green up and in the fall when it is dry.
Know your limits. Don't push yourself (and others in your party) too hard. Overexertion is a common cause of accidental injuries. It causes torn muscles, tendons, and ligaments.
Lightning. The safest place in a lightning strom is in a house or car. If you are outside, stay away from tall trees or rock outcrops. Get off mountain tops.
Dead and Fallen Trees. Mountain roads are twisty and unlit. Slow down, especially at night or in the fog. You never know when a tree has fallen across the road. It could be right around the next curve. If you are camping, look up before you pitch your tent. Do not camp under dead limbs or near diseased or dead trees.
Safe disposal of wood fire ash is an often-overlooked fire prevention measure. Hot coals can survive for days buried in white ash, and their red glow is often not visible in daylight. When cleaning out a fireplace, wood stove, smoker, etc., that has been used within the last week, ashes should be moved to a metal bucket and water added to the bucket until the ash and water can be stirred like a soup. Yes, this is messy and a nuisance, but not nearly so much a nuisance as extinguishing a brush fire, making repairs to a building, or worse...