[South Florida DX Association] ARLB049 Hams supporting communications in Arizona forest fire

[Bill Marx]

 SB QST @ ARL $ARLB049
> ARLB049 Hams supporting communications in Arizona forest fire
> 
> ZCZC AG49
> QST de W1AW  
> ARRL Bulletin 49  ARLB049
> From ARRL Headquarters  
> Newington CT  July 18, 2003
> To all radio amateurs 
> 
> SB QST ARL ARLB049
> ARLB049 Hams supporting communications in Arizona forest fire
> 
> Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and Radio Amateur Emergency
> Service (RACES) volunteers have been providing communications
> support during the Kinishba Fire in the White Mountains of Arizona.
> Some 1000 firefighters are battling the Kinishba Fire, now reported
> at some 20,100 acres and approximately 20 percent contained.
> 
> Navajo County Emergency Coordinator Cris McBride, KB7QXQ, says
> Navajo County DEC and RACES Officer Dave Epley, N9CZV, is heading
> the Amateur Radio response, which includes two people per shift at
> three locations: A Red Cross evacuation Center in Snowflake, the
> Navajo County emergency operations Center in Holbrook and the
> Whiteriver Red Cross communications center. McBride credits Epley
> with working into the early hours of July 17 to set up repeater
> links so Red Cross personnel in Snowflake could communicate with
> their colleagues in Whiteriver.
> 
> "Until that time, the Red Cross workers could not communicate
> effectively, as their cell phones would not work with the cell phone
> company's system out of Whiteriver," McBride said. Some 5000
> Whiteriver residents were evacuated to safe zones on the outskirts
> of the fire area, but fire officials now have lifted the evacuation
> order and allowed them to return. The fire remains some two miles
> from a point that would trigger further evacuations, however.
> 
> Lightning ignited the fire on July 13. Arizona Governor Janet
> Napolitano has declared a state of emergency in Gila and Navajo
> counties.
> NNNN
> /EX
> 
>