W6DUG
08-03-2002, 07:29 PM
I've been a ham for a few years and have just had my first experience with providing communications for the Red Cross. The fires in San Diego ( Julian ) area resulted in the setting up of several shelters which Hams provided communications for. I found myself at one of these shelters accommodating over 300 evacuees which had only 1 working phone line and plenty of folks with cell phones that didn't work or had dead batteries. Providing links with net control along with Red Cross mobiles and the other shelters was an exhausting experience. I was overwhelmed with how dependent the community was upon our services. It seemed many hams who had never been involved in this type of operation volunteered and found themselves badly needed. " Hats Off to the Red Cross". I can't imagine what this situation would have been like without their presence ...73's...Doug W6DUG