Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (A)
To : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Fri Aug 03 2018 09:51 am
Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2127 for Friday, August 3, 2018
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2127, with a release date of
Friday, August 3, 2018, to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. Hams step up as California wildfires burn.
Dave Kalter Youth DXers in Curacao release their log's final tally --
and South Africa prepares for Youngsters on the Air. All this and
more, as Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2127 comes your way right now.
**
BILLBOARD CART
**
HAMS STEP UP AS WILDFIRES SWEEP CALIFORNIA
PAUL: We begin this week with a report from California, where
officials were tallying up the damage from one of California's
most devastating wildfires. By August 1st, the Carr Fire consumed
Shasta County, taking with it more than 1,000 homes and at least
eight lives at the last count.
As shelters opened, and the Red Cross sought out communications help,
hams with the Shasta Tahama Amateur Radio Emergency Services,
assisted by hams from Sacramento ARES stepped in. One of them was
Gary Sanda, KI6OMU, the finance manager of Shasta Tahama ARES. As
Gary's family was being evacuated to stay with friends, he deployed
to help with what was being called the Carr Fire, the largest of the
17 blazes to have hit the state.
GARY: Initially, it was a callup of local people from the Shasta
Tahama ARES or STARES, and as the fire grew from one shelter to two
shelters to maybe five or six now -- and one of the places people
were sheltering was a casino 40 miles away -- we have been getting
assistance from Sacramento ARES. So we have been covering most
everything. We certainly could have used more people, but we have
all been scrambling to try and cover everything we can.
PAUL/ANCHOR: By the first of August, the Carr fire was declared 30
percent contained, but people - including Gary's own family - were
still displaced. The hams were busy providing communications between
shelter managers and the Red Cross as needed, since cell phone service
remained largely intact, although spotty in some areas.
GARY: The bulk of our communications is WINLINK, because we are too
far north to have any real VHF voice or UHF voice. So we are using
WINLINK packet.
PAUL/ANCHOR: As Newsline went to production, the fire had swept over
more than 112,000 acres, and the hams were continuing to work their
shifts, sometimes for days. Gary said that any hams wanting to provide
assistance can get details by visiting the state's Communications
Reserve Unit website at acscalifornia dot org (acscalifornia.org)
(CNN, SHASTA TAHAMA ARES)
**
VOIP HURRICANE NET GETS NEW ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
PAUL/ANCHOR: In other areas of ham radio disaster response, the VoIP
Hurricane Net has someone new to help guide it, as we hear from Bobby
Best, WX4ALA.
BOBBY: The VoIP Hurricane Net has a new assistant director of
operations. Debby Gray, WX9VOR, has been a part of the operation
since 2016, when she joined the VoIP Hurricane Net as a net control
operator. Not long after coming on board, her skills were put to the
test during the historic Atlantic hurricane season in 2017, when she
worked numerous extended net control shifts, and also managed to recruit
additional net controls - newcomers and veterans - during hurricanes
Irma and Maria.
Debby fills the vacancy left after Jim Sellars, N0UAM, became a Silent
Key in May. She will be working with Dennis Dura, K2DCD.
The announcement of her appointment was made by Rob, KD1CY, the VoIP
Hurricane Net's director of operations. He noted that Debby's background
makes her ideally suited for the job. She has had more than two decades
experience as an IT consultant, educator, and mission critical support
specialist, work that got her involved in disaster planning. She is also
emergency coordinator for the ARES group of Kane County, Illinois, and
a volunteer sergeant for the Naperville Illinois EMA Communications and
Weather units.
Debby also works as one of the senior members of the WX9LOT Ham Team,
supporting NWS Chicago and the NWS Chicago SKYWARN program.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bobby Best, WX4ALA.
