California State SAR

Key numbers

Only figures with a published source. California doesn’t publish a statewide count of SAR missions or volunteers.

How search and rescue is requested in California

1. Call 911 / the sheriffThe sheriff’s office with jurisdiction runs the search. Under Gov. Code § 26614 a county board of supervisors may authorize the sheriff to search for and rescue lost or endangered persons at county expense. Report missing persons without delay: Penal Code § 14211 requires police and sheriffs to accept reports immediately.
2. Sheriff calls out county SARCounty SAR volunteers (often registered Disaster Service Workers), sheriff’s K9, mountain rescue and other specialty teams. Most volunteer teams, including CARDA units, deploy only on an official request.
3. Mutual aid through the Operational AreaWhen county resources aren’t enough, the sheriff requests search and rescue mutual aid under the Law Enforcement Mutual Aid Plan (Blue Book) and its SAR annex (Green Book), coordinated by Cal OES regional law enforcement coordinators.
4. Cal OES State Warning CenterAgencies reach Cal OES around the clock at (916) 845-8911 and ask for the Cal OES Law Enforcement duty officer. Fire-based resources (US&R task forces, swiftwater/flood teams) are coordinated through Cal OES Fire and Rescue.
5. Federal supportCoast Guard Southwest District for maritime cases; the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center for federal inland assets (including Civil Air Patrol); FEMA US&R through state request. On National Park lands, the park is generally the lead.

Law and authority

Cal OES search and rescue guidelines

Official mutual aid plans and discipline guidelines published by the Cal OES Law Enforcement Branch.

• SAR canine mutual aid guideline — The base canine document in the SAR annex.
• Appendix A — avalanche — Avalanche canine evaluation.
• Appendix B — cadaver — Land human remains detection. Type 1 resource.
• Appendix C — water — Water human remains detection. Type 3 resource.
• Appendix D — disaster type 3 — Disaster canine, Type 3 resource.
• Appendix E — disaster type 4 — Disaster canine, Type 4 resource.
• Appendix F — trailing — Scent-specific trailing evaluation.
• Alpine team guideline — High-altitude alpine and mountain rescue typing.
• Technical rope rescue guideline — Vertical environment typing.
• Cal OES law-enforcement programs — Program overview; the SAR annex is linked separately below.
• SAR annex (Green Book) — The search and rescue annex itself.
• SAR Underwater (dive) mutual aid guideline — Dive team typing, training and equipment for underwater search, developed with the State Sheriffs' SAR Coordinators.
• SAR Underground (cave and mine) mutual aid guideline — Cave, mine and tunnel search and rescue, written with the National Cave Rescue Commission, cave rescue teams and Cal/OSHA's Mining and Tunneling Unit.
• SAR Mounted Teams mutual aid guideline — Standards for mounted search teams.
• SAR Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) mutual aid guideline — Standards for OHV/UTV search resources.
• SAR Tracker mutual aid guideline — Standards for trackers (sign cutting) as a mutual aid resource.
• SAR Ground Searcher mutual aid guideline — Baseline standards for ground searchers.
• SAR Incident Support Team mutual aid guideline — Standards for incident support/overhead teams supporting a sheriff's search.
• SAR Swiftwater/Flood mutual aid guideline — Resource typing, training and equipment for swiftwater and flood search and rescue.
• Model SAR Operating Plan, Model SAR MOU and Model SAR Team Organization Policy — Cal OES model documents; Gov. Code § 26614 requires a county's SAR authorization to be consistent with the Model Operating Plan. Listed on the Cal OES SAR mutual aid page.
• SAR Fixed Wing Aircraft and SAR-USAR mutual aid guidelines — Standards for fixed-wing air search resources, and how SAR teams work alongside urban search and rescue. Listed on the Cal OES SAR mutual aid page.
• SARMARS — SAR Mutual Aid Radio System VHF plan — The statewide VHF interoperability plan for SAR mutual aid, published by the Cal OES SAR Program (December 2016).

Resources by discipline

What each resource does, who provides it in California, how to request it, and the governing standard. Every button opens the official or primary source.

58-county directory

Each county’s sheriff phone, sheriff SAR program or county site, and Cal OES law enforcement mutual aid region. For a search inside a county, call that county’s sheriff. For an emergency, call 911.

Sheriff phone numbers were checked in October 2026. “Verified” links to the sheriff’s or a government page that lists the number. Where no non-emergency or dispatch line was published, the sheriff’s main line is shown and labeled.