This past Saturday morning, while most people were adding another log to the fire, pouring another hot chocolate, and deciding what to do indoors on such a cold day, members of the Cariboo Regional District’s Central Cariboo Search and Rescue (CCSAR) unit went swimming. Flat-ice rescue is one of the technical roles that selected volunteers practice for and hope they never need to do. CCSAR member and flat-ice rescue Instructor Garth Wakelam led four currently certified members in helping to provide the newest ice rescue team member Kathy MacDonald an opportunity to practice her flat-ice rescue skills.Members used the thin ice on the edge of the aerator on Dewar Lake to simulate the rescue of a person having fallen through thin ice. The Miocene Fire Department allowed them to use its fire hall as a warm place to change gear after the training session.With the cold temperatures recently experienced throughout the Cariboo, many of the lakes are relatively safe right now, but care is still required at lake inlet and outlets where the natural current causes the ice to be thin.For more information about Central Cariboo Search and Rescue or to join the unit, visit CCSAR online at www.ccsar.ca, e-mail info@ccsar.ca or call 250-398-5445.