March 2000 QST

PUBLIC SERVICENorthern Florida Was Y2K ReadyOn New Year’s Eve, while celebrantssipped Bollinger and otherwise reveledacross the state of Florida (and everywhereelse, of course), northern Florida ARES personnelskipped the celebrations and insteadsat with emergency management officialsat various county EOCs. They were readyfor just about anything. This observer spentthe late evening monitoring net activity on3950 kHz, the recognized northern FloridaARES 75-meter frequency. There, the EOCoperators checked in and provided reportsto the state EOC at Tallahassee, which wasalso activated for the mission at hand.Although the Y2K bug didn’t bite systemsin the state, the net operated impressively,supported by dedicated ARES membersand state emergency management officialswho have stood behind AmateurRadio as a communication asset. JohnFleming, WD4FFX, of the state EOC, latertold Section Manager Rudy Hubbard,WA4PUP, and Section Emergency CoordinatorNils Millergren, WA4NDA, that theamateur Y2K net was excellent and wellstaffed.This bodes well for the northernFlorida ARES role in future emergencycommunication support.The Northern Florida ARES Net meetsdaily at 9:00 AM local time on 3950 kHz,with Jim Giles, K4VRT, serving as net manager.Join us!—Rick Palm, K1CE, FlaglerCounty ARES, Palm Coast, FloridaHAMS HELP ON FIERY FOURTHBy Jerry Boyd, K6BZSection Emergency CoordinatorSacramento Valley SectionIt was Friday afternoon and the beginningof a long Fourth of July weekend. Suddenly,northern California became the center of asubstantial fire fighting and Amateur Radioeffort. A Bureau of Land Management controlfire in southeastern Trinity County was fannedout of control by unexpected winds. The firenear the town of Lewiston ultimately burnedthousands of acres, destroyed dozens ofhomes, caused millions of dollars in damageand forced the evacuation of hundreds.The California Division of Forestry andFire Protection (CDF) assumed responsibilityfor combating the rapidly spreading blaze. Asit had done in the past, CDF called for amateurradio operators from the Shasta and TrinityCounty ARES units to assist. Shasta EC EricCassano, KC6KZX, and Assistant EC SueElsemore, W6SUE assigned amateurs to staffthe CDF Command Center in Redding. Twometervoice and packet equipment had beenpermanently installed at CDF several yearsago for use in such situations. Amateurs wereRosalie White, WA1STO Field & Educational Services Manageralso scheduled, if needed, to “shadow” CDFFire Information Officers in the field.While the Trinity County fire was still outof control, another large blaze broke out alongInterstate 5 at the northern limits of the City ofRedding. This fire threatened numerous structuresand also forced evacuations. It broughtholiday traffic on busy I-5 to a halt.As the weekend wore on, another largewildland fire erupted in the foothills just westof Redding. In this case the fire occurred atabout 2:15 AM. It became necessary to contactresidents in a very rural area, most ofwhom were asleep, and order them to evacuate.While that fire and the Lewiston firewere still occupying both firefighters andamateurs, still another blaze occurred atWhiskeytown Lake near the border of Shastaand Trinity Counties. This blaze occurredwhen a petroleum tank truck exploded settinghillsides adjacent to the roadway ablaze. OnMonday, July 5, a series of four arson fires inthe west Redding area kept fire fighting personneland hams even busier than they hadbeen previously.This flurry of fire activity caused a responseof over 1000 firefighters from throughoutCalifornia and Oregon. Some traveledover 600 miles from their home base to thefire scenes. Hundreds of pieces of fire fightingapparatus including bulldozers were usedas were 10 helicopters and 11 tanker aircraft.Given the number of simultaneous fires,their size, and the remote and almost inaccessibleareas involved, it was a tribute to the firefighting and Amateur Radio efforts that morestructures were not lost, that there were nodeaths, and very few injuries. Credit goes tothe 30 Amateur Radio operators from ShastaCounty and Trinity County ARES who providedvaluable service: KD6DUX,N6RNL, W6DEE, KD6DG, KE6FJN,KQ6YW, W6BYT, KO6JT, W6LEE, AB6JA,K6VVY, N6BYM, KX6Q, W6SUE,KD6GBU, KE6KMD, WO6P, W7RAY,N6HDC, KI6GR, WD6FHX, W6HOR,N6NOT, K6BZJ, WA6BXN, KD6GCS,WD6AIA, K6BZ, KC6KZX and KQ6YX.TEXAS SKYWARN TEAMWINS WEATHER AWARDThe Fort Worth (Texas) Amateur RadioSKYWARN Team was awarded the NationalWeather Association’s Walter J. Bennett PublicService Award. A presentation was held atthe NWA Awards Banquet Wednesdayevening, October 20, in Biloxi, Mississippi.The award is presented to an individual ororganization directly assisting the meteorologicalcommunity in providing weather-relatedinformation to the public. Individualsand organizations in the meteorological professionare ineligible for this award. Theaward was based on the extra effort, hardwork, and self-sacrificing attitude demonstratedby the past and present members overthe past 25 years.The team operates out of the Fort WorthNational Weather Service Forecast Office usingup to five VHF, two UHF and one VHFAPRS stations to provide the NWS meteorologistswith field reports during severe weather.With the support of numerous repeater andlink operators in the area, the group has expandedcoverage from the surrounding countiesto more than 30 counties in northernTexas. The services of the team are possibleonly with the excellent support and cooperationby the NWS, emergency managementAt the NationalWeatherAssociation’sAwards Banquet(Left to right):team memberGreg Story,KB5YRK; teamco-leader MikeHeskett, WB5QLD;and NWAPresident Dr. JimMoore.March 2000 83