With monsoon season arriving in Summit County, reading weather forecasts and avoiding thunderstorms is essential for safe recreating, according to Ben Butler, a Summit County Rescue Group mission coordinator.

Butler said the group has not had many calls from people getting stuck in electrical or rainstorms this season, despite the county having a few “pretty big lightning storms” over the last few days.

“That’s a really difficult call for us,” Butler said. “To keep not only the people that we’re trying to rescue safe, but to keep our own members safe as they go in the field.”

When responding to a call about someone needing help in an electrical storm, Butler said, the group often responds to the trailhead and then performs a risk assessment. They consider things like weather activity and whether the people needing assistance have known injuries.

“We don’t necessarily want to send our rescue members into an active lightning storm to put them at risk,” Butler said. “It’s not to say that we aren’t going to respond period, but we’re going to keep our own safety in mind, as well as the safety of the individuals that we’re trying to go help.”

The group also has limited ability to assist people caught in storms above tree line even when they do deploy. Butler said many areas above tree line do not have roads, so the group could not use for ATVs or other offroad vehicles to get people below tree line faster. Air assistance from Flight for Life may also be unavailable due to stormy weather.

Especially because of how challenging it can be for the rescue group to respond to storm-related calls, Butler emphasized the best course of action is for people recreating to avoid getting caught in thunderstorms.

“Don’t be above tree line when that storm comes in,” Butler said. “I know that that may seem a little harsh, but that’s the best way to avoid lightning storms.”

People recreating should also avoid any wide-open areas, like being on the water, during a storm, Butler said. They should look at weather forecasts and try to avoid having their adventures on days with high probabilities for thunderstorms, which often arrive in the afternoon in Colorado’s mountains.

“Weather forecasts aren’t 100% accurate all the time, but just having a good idea of what the weather could do during that day could help guide what you choose to do,” Butler said. “If there’s really high probability of lightning storms in the afternoon, don’t go out in the afternoon.”

If someone is above tree line or in other open spaces with storms moving in, Butler said, the best thing to do is to seek shelter. When above tree line, that means getting below it as quickly as possible, without risking injury.

People should also keep space between one another during a storm, Butler said, especially while above tree line. There have been documented cases where lightning struck one person and “jumped” to others in close proximity to the victim, he said.

“Getting some separation from each other could be a way to reduce the number of lightning injuries in your group,” Butler said.

If lightning is striking around someone, laying down flat would not be an effective way to minimize their chances of being struck. Butler said doing so only increases the person’s surface area to conduct electricity. 

The proper “lightning position,” Butler said, is to crouch down, only have your feet on the ground, tuck your head and cover your ears. Reducing your height profile and contact with the ground can lower the chance of being struck by lightning.

“These are some things that could help — they’re not guaranteed to completely eliminate the prospect of getting struck by lightning,” Butler said. “The best thing that you can do when there’s a lightning storm around is get inside.”

When below tree line, Butler said people should avoid standing near tall, lone-standing trees. Rocky overhangs are not effective shelter either, as lightning can travel along their surface. Small trees provide the best shelter, he said, until people can get back to “definitive shelter,” like a building or a car with a hard top.

When hikers who saw rain, hail and lightning called the rescue group a few weeks ago for advice, Butler said the group told them to spread out, avoid tall, lone-standing trees and continue hiking down to get to shelter, as safely as they could.

“We certainly don’t want folks to put themselves into a situation where they’re running and there’s the possibility of tripping and getting themselves hurt,” Butler said. “We want to keep ourselves under control but have very purposeful, directed movement.”