[Ares-races] Ham Radio on Fire Duty in Northern California use new deployment tool

[BillLennox at aol.com]

ARES on Fire Duty in Northern California

    NEWINGTON, CT, Aug 16, 2004--While Hurricane Charley ravaged Florida and 
the US Eastern Seaboard, wildfires have continued to rage throughout the 
Western US. Two wildfires erupted August 11 in the ARRL Sacramento Valley Section, 
and a third--the French Fire--broke out three days later. The French Fire, 
located 15 miles northwest of Redding, resulted in the evacuation of French 
Gulch. The fire has burned some 9000 acres and was only 10 percent contained as of 
the morning of August 16. 

    "A section-wide Amateur Radio Emergency Service mutual assistance standby 
alert was issued, as ARES teams in Butte and Shasta counties scrambled to 
respond to the three major incidents," said Sacramento Valley Section Emergency 
Coordinator David Thorne, K6SOJ. He says the ARES operation in Shasta County 
likely will remain active at least through August 20. As a result of the three 
wildfires, he reports, more than 20,000 acres have been burned and more than 
100 homes destroyed. Some 4000 firefighters are on the lines, with 15 injuries 
reported, Thorne said. 
    
    Thorne said the fire response marked "the first serious field test" in 
the Sacramento Valley Section of the Amateur Radio Communication Team (ARCT) 
concept he introduced in the December 2003 and January 2004 issues of QST (see 
"ICS and Amateur Radio Communication Teams" in the "Public Service" column).  
ARCTs simplify the process of ordering needed resources within the Incident 
Command System.   <http://www.emcomm.org/ARCT/index.html>

    "It worked flawlessly," he said. "It is flexible enough to work well, yet 
provide a standardized structure." Thorne said one unexpected bonus was that 
a Type 1 ARCT was able to cover two simultaneous major incidents some 25 miles 
apart. 
    
    The basic system resource, a Type 1 ARCT, is a complete 12-person Amateur 
Radio emergency/auxiliary communications team for single or multiple agency 
communications. It is a full field station with four mobile/portable units and 
has short-range (VHF/UHF) and long range (HF) voice and digital capabilities 
operating independently of outside power sources. 


    At the Oregon Fire in Butte County one ARES Type 1 ARCT was deployed 
while several Type 5 ARCTs were activated under mutual assistance from nearby 
counties. A Type 5 ARCT is a single-operator supplementary resource with a vehicle 
and a Technician or higher-class license, equipped for VHF FM. A Type 5 ARCT 
may be assigned to a specific agency or to supplement or relieve an existing 
ARCT. These teams demobilized August 13. 

    The Bear and French fires in Shasta County produced serious challenges, 
Thorne said. One Type 1 and three Type 5 ARCTs were activated by Shasta-Tehama 
ARES. Later, one Type 4 and one Type 5 ARCT were called in from El Dorado and 
Butte Counties under the Sacramento Valley Section's mutual assistance plan. 
Similar to Type 5, a Type 4 ARCT consists of two individual radio operators 
with one or two vehicles. 


    "One especially harrowing event occurred near the historic mining town of 
French Gulch," Thorne said. "As the fire approached, 300-plus residents 
escaped over mountainous back-country Forest Service roads. This area is dotted 
with mineshafts and inhabited by rattlesnakes." It took three hours for the 
evacuees to top the mountain and make it down into Weaverville. 

    Trinity County ARES was activated and a Type 2 ARCT--a four-member team 
with digital capabilities--provided VHF FM, HF SSB and VHF packet tactical, 
health and welfare and administrative communications between a now-closed Red 
Cross evacuation center at Trinity High School and Red Cross headquarters in 
Redding. Evacuees have been moved to the Redding evacuation center. For a time, 
the French Fire caused the closing of Highway 299 between Redding and 
Weaverville. 


    The Bear Fire, now 100 percent contained, was 10 miles northeast of 
Redding. It burned over some 10,500 acres. ARES supported Red Cross Disaster 
Services with damage assessment and health-and-welfare support. 

    The National Interagency Fire Center says the US remains at a National 
Preparedness Level 3 as wildland fire activity increased over the weekend. Three 
new large fires were reported in Idaho, North Dakota and Arizona yesterday, 
while three large fires were contained in Utah, Southern California and 
Arizona. 

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Bill Lennox
US Air Force (Retired)
Full Time College Student (Emergency Management)
KD7EFP
Assistant Emergency Coordinator - Plans (ARES), Washington County, Oregon
Assistant Radio Officer - Plans (RACES), Washington County, Oregon