California ARES Group Responds for Back-to-Back Blazes

From the ARRL...



MONTGOMERY CREEK, CA, Sep 5, 2001--In the wake of the "Oregon Fire" activation the last week of August, the Shasta County, California, ARES team barely had time to take a smoke-free breath before being activated again.





Shasta County Emergency Coordinator Drew Witham, W1SAR, reports that just as evacuation orders in Weaverville were being cancelled and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection was announcing near containment of the Oregon fire, another huge blaze broke out in the nearby town of Hayfork. By late in the day of August 31, the "Hyampom Fire" had scorched an estimated 450 acres and prompted another round of evacuations.



Shasta County and Trinity County ARES members responded quickly to shadow CDF and Red Cross team members. Witham said this enabled communication from the mountain communities back to CDF and Red Cross incident support centers in Redding.



"Heavy smoke and difficult terrain made direct communications difficult," Witham said. "At times messages were being relayed via two monitoring stations using three different repeaters." Witham said that all of the public information coming from the CDF's multi-agency information center in Redding was relayed via ham radio.



Witham said he'd first learned of the "Oregon Fire" while on duty battling another blaze with his local volunteer fire department. Still in his wildland firefighter's yellow Nomex gear, he headed for CDF Headquarters in Redding, where DEC Dick Cloyd, WO6P, had responded to the CDF activation of ARES. They quickly formulated a plan, and Witham headed for the fireline 60 miles away in the mountains.



"Despite the distance, CDF and Red Cross personnel had communications within the hour, and support was continued as needed right through the holiday weekend," Witham said. Witham was able to take time away from the fires to return to work as an officer with the Redding Police Department, which he called "a welcome break." ARES operators stood down September 3.--Drew Witham, W1SAR/SCARES