It’s still considered winter for another five weeks, but the stretch of unseasonably warm weather has brought on a bit of an early mud season in the Wasatch Back. The Summit County Sheriff’s Office has seen an increase in stranded recreators deceived by low snow, prompting a reminder about t he importance of caution on mountain roads and practicing winter safety tips. “What we’re seeing this year is that you can’t see the snow accumulation from the road, so it looks like the dirt roads are just fine,” said Sgt. Skyler Talbot. “You can drive 6 or 7 miles down that road, so you’re well off the highway, and then you discover the road is impassable.” Talbot said the most problematic areas have been on the East Side, especially near Kamas, because that’s where people tend to drive for camping trips, snowmobiling and outdoor winter activities. While some popular routes close for the winter, like Mirror Lake Highway, other mountainous areas remain open, with the assumption that people will use their best judgment. “Where there’s snow, there’s mud,” Talbot said. “If you’re stuck in the mud, you’re now having to turn around … so they’re trying to turn a truck and trailer around in the mud. That’s when we’re seeing folks get stuck.” Summit County Search and Rescue has had a growing demand on its services in recent years, although information on specific call numbers so far in 2026 was not immediately available.  However, data from an end-of-the-year report noted that the department averaged one “event” every three days last year for a total of 112 calls, including six avalanches. Search and Rescue also increased its staffing, bumping its paid hours up by 64% compared to 2024, while volunteer hours rose by a whopping 117%. The number of visitors who end up needing assistance from local first responders is another key piece of Search and Rescue operations, Talbot said. Approximately 15% of calls for service come from Summit County residents. Meanwhile, visitors from across the state constitute 59% of the department’s call volume. Out-of-state tourists account for 21%,while 5% of callers were listed as coming from an “unknown” location. “It’s not that we wouldn’t do this or don’t want to do this (for visitors), but it highlights that a lot of our services are for people who don’t even live here,” Talbot said. There’s a cost for the growing number of Search and Rescue calls, too. Yet the financial burden doesn’t necessarily fall to the county government, which is something Talbot said recreators need to be aware of before they call for services. “We can’t continue to be a free vehicle recovery service,” he said. “We do have the resources to provide that service, to go find someone who’s made a poor decision and gotten stuck. … Unfortunately, though, this is happening so much more now, and the vast majority of this is from people making poor decisions.” Talbot said the Sheriff’s Office is always committed to safety and is more than happy to search for stranded drivers, but it’s too expensive and requires too much manpower and equipment to recover stuck vehicles. “We’re never going to leave someone in a vulnerable situation,” Talbot said. “We’ll go in, we’ll pick you up, pick your family up and drive you back to the highway, but you’re going to be responsible for figuring out how to recover your vehicle.” There are multiple businesses in the area specializing in vehicle recovery services, but Talbot said they typically require a hefty deposit, which is why it’s easier — and cheaper — to stay off dangerous roads entirely. “I heard of one this week that had a deposit upward of $1,000 before they would even go up and look at the situation,” Talbot said. “The expense to have your vehicle recovered by one of these companies can get pretty high pretty quickly.” Talbot said the main reason Search and Rescue asks people to use private recovery businesses is that the department doesn’t want to dedicate resources to a non-emergency situation in case something life-threatening pops up in another part of the county. “We definitely want to encourage folks to be prepared,” Talbot said. “We encourage people to enjoy winter recreation if that’s something they enjoy doing, but we really need people to make responsible decisions. Low snow does not always equal low danger.” The post Summit County Sheriff’s Office stresses winter safety as Search and Rescue calls increase appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less