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AE5ME > ARES 17.12.15 17:16l 47 Lines 7309 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : YAN5N2LNWAII
Read: GUEST
Subj: ARRL ARES Newsletter December 16th Part 1 of 4
Path: IW8PGT<IW7BFZ<I3XTY<I0OJJ<N6RME<N0KFQ<AE5ME
Sent: 151217/1511Z 27944@AE5ME.#NEOK.OK.USA.NOAM BPQ1.4.64
•Pennsylvania Amateurs Support FEMA Emergency Management Course Exercise
•Western Washington Amateurs Activated for Landslide
•Bio Shield 2015 : Martin County (Florida) ARES Drills on Biological Attack
•Public Service Communications: Know, Communicate, and Maintain the Boundaries
•Letters: "What You Are Not"
•South Carolina Flooding: Notes from the Section Manager
•Group Publishes On-Line Video Library for Disaster Response Training
•Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio (RaDAR) Challenge
•Public Service: ARES Supports Ultra Marathon in Florida Panhandle
•Boston Marathon Communications Committee Seeks Skilled Amateurs for Technical Infrastructure Assistance
•Department of Homeland Security's Office of Emergency Communications to Provide AUXCOMM Training in Conjunction with Orlando's HamCation® 2016
•K1CE For a Final
ARES Briefs, Links
GlobalSET 2015 Worldwide Preparedness Exercise to Focus on Organization (12/9/2015); ARRL International Humanitarian Award Nominations Due by December 31 (12/9/2015); Radio Amateurs Respond to "Grim" Flood Situation in Southern India (12/4/2015); MARS-Amateur Radio Exercise an Overall Success (11/27/2015)
Pennsylvania Amateurs Support FEMA Emergency Management Course Exercise
Over the last three years the South Central (Pennsylvania) Task Force Amateur Radio Working Group (SCTF-ARWG) has provided radio communications support for the Integrated Emergency Management Course (IEMC) held at the FEMA Emergency Management Institute (EMI) campus in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The ARWG is a cooperative organization of Amateur Radio groups and individuals involved with emergency communications in the eight county region of Pennsylvania. The group, through its Hospital Emergency Amateur Radio Service (HEARS), also supports emergency communications functions for healthcare facilities in the region. It is charged with coordinating activities and interoperability among Amateur Radio communication assets and organizations. The ARWG participates with ARES® and the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES).
"For the IEMC exercise portion, we typically have a voice/data VHF/UHF station in the IEMC's sim cell and each of the simulated EOCs," reports ARWG chairman Don Schmitt, K3DCS. "Our task is to pass exercise injects and handle response messages during a simulated total outage of EOC power, telephone and public safety communications." "Messages are passed using both voice and data modes (fldigi) over amateur service frequencies."
The SCTF-ARWG communications team has participated in this FEMA program with visiting emergency managers and personnel from counties and cities in Florida, Utah and Alabama. "Our team is requested to assist when the visiting emergency management agency (EMA) has a RACES, ARES or ACS group integrated with their
In a simulated EOC for the FEMA Integrated Emergency Management Course exercise, l to r, Alan Fleckler, KB3TOZ, and Brian Koenig, K3BMK, both of Adams County, Pennsylvania. (photo courtesy K3DCS)
staff representatives," said Schmitt. Recently, when a Calhoun County, Alabama EMA brought ARES members along to support exercise communications at the simulated EOCs, members of the ARWG team who are also ARES members (from Adams and York counties, Pennsylvania) assisted them. Pennsylvania state EMA (PEMA) ACS Coordinator Susan Singer, KB3KDC, observes and participates with the SCTF-ARWG team.
"Our ARWG communications team is honored to be asked to regularly support FEMA EMI with the IEMC program," Schmitt said. "Over the years of participation the team has learned a lot working with FEMA EMI staff and each of the participating county/city agencies. The hot wash report from FEMA EMI continually gives high marks to the Amateur Radio group. Frequently, participating EMA groups state that they didn't fully realize how valuable Amateur Radio could be to their emergency operations and planning." - [Don Schmitt, K3DCS, is chairman, Pennsylvania SCTF-Amateur Radio Working Group, Auxiliary Communications Officer, Adams County Department of Emergency Services; and ARRL ARES Emergency Coordinator, Adams County, PA]
Western Washington Amateurs Activated for Landslide
In the afternoon of Wednesday, December 9th, the northbound lanes of Interstate 5, a major transportation route along the West coast, were blocked by a landslide at mile post 23, just north of Woodland, Washington. Boulders the size of small trucks, mud, and trees invaded all three traffic lanes. Mother Nature did an excellent job of picking a slide location that would create the most chaos as there are no alternate routes in the area, and another slide blocked US Hwy 30 just across the Columbia River in Oregon.
Woodland, a tiny community of less than 5,800 residents located at the southern tip of Cowlitz County, was inundated by thousands of unexpected cars and trucks taking exits 21 and 22. Emergency Coordinator Randy Greeley, NU7D put out a heads up email on Wednesday evening, and the Cowlitz County Department of Emergency Management, led by professional Emergency Manager Ernie Schnabler, KB7YPU, activated the ARES portion of its ACS volunteer group on Thursday morning, December 10th.
Handling the coordination at Woodland was the Mayor of Woodland, Grover Laseke, KG7O, and Clark County ARES Team 1 Leader Randy Walter, K7LNR. Two shelters were opened for motorists, one by the Red Cross at Grace Community Church on the east side of the freeway, and one at Woodland High School on the west side of the freeway. Walter reported that "Woodland High School canceled school for the day and opened its facilities to stranded travelers with support from its staff." Both shelters, Woodland City Hall, and the Washington State Department of Transportation (at the scene of the slide) were supported by Amateur Radio communications.
Two VHF repeaters owned by the Lower Columbia Amateur Radio Association were used to facilitate the amateur response. The City of Woodland produced two sets of situation update flyers for posting at local businesses on both sides of the freeway, and the second set was distributed by Dave Bunch, KF7MJQ, and Walter. Other radio amateurs providing communications assistance to the Woodland landslide incident were Bill Czarnecki, KF7ZAT, Carl Gray, K7ECW, Cecil Woolfe, KE7UAN, Colleen Greeley, KB7AYY, Darin Hokanson, KD7TJR, Gordon Spalding, WA6TTR, Jeff Edgecomb, KB7PMO, Jeff Hillendahl, KJ6ETR, Kie Ludwig, KD7UQR, Phil Vanderschaegen, KF7SJK, Ray Blanke, KC7MRM, and Stan Mourning, KF7CVR.
One element of the response that could have been improved from the perspective of the stranded motorists was the (non-amateur) communications between Washington and Oregon. Because of the slides on two parallel north-south highways at the same time, northbound motorists on US Hwy 30 in Oregon were redirected to I-5 in Washington, and northbound motorists on I-5 in Washington were redirected to US Hwy 30 in Oregon.
Two of the three lanes of northbound I-5 were re-opened in the evening on Thursday, December 10th, after a closure of approximately 28 hours, and the Amateur Radio communications support teams were released. Radio amateurs contributed 163.5 hours and drove 368 miles. -- Steve Aberle, WA7PTM, ARRL Official Emergency Station (OES), ARRL Western Washington Section
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