The origins of the Walker County Cave and Cliff Rescue Team date back to 1969, when Lee Henry, the head of Civil Defense for LaFayette and Walker County made friends with some cavers from Atlanta’s Dogwood City Grotto. A few years later, there was an incident on Pigeon Mountain that prompted Henry to request rescue training from the Atlanta cavers. After a couple of sessions, Henry asked the cavers if they would be willing to form a “cave team” as part of Walker County Civil Defense and respond on an as needed basis. Today, the Cave and Cliff Rescue Team includes members of Walker County Fire Rescue.

There are typically one to five incidents a year that require the assistance of our Cave and Cliff Team.

There are roughly 30 to 40 caves to explore in the community. Inside a cave, the weather is pretty consistent at roughly 55 degrees year round locally.

Watch an informative video from UCTV. Advance to the 58:50 mark for the Cave & Cliff Team feature.