SKYWARN Newsletter #245

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Hello to all....

Newsletter Dedicated to ARRL Letter Article Updates and SKYWARN Recognition Day...

Feedback Requested on Regional Weather Summary Product....

SKYWARN Recognition Day (SRD) 2007, Saturday December 1st, 2007 0000-2400 UTC....

ARRL Letter Article: Amateur Radio Assist Flood Victims in Central Texas....

ARRL Letter Article: Oklahoma ARES Members Assist with Floods

ARRL Letter Article: ARRL Welcomes New Emergency Preparedness and Response Manager....

ARRL Letter Article: Hurricane Dean Slams Caribbean Islands....

ARRL Letter Article: Hawaii Hams Heed the Call of Hurricane Flossie....

ARRL Letter Article: Dean Downgraded to a Tropical Depression, Hurricane Nets Deactivated....

ARRL Letter Article: ARES Teams Activated for Northwest Ohio Near Record Flooding....

ARRL Letter Article: Michigan Hams Activated Due to Storms and Tornado....

ARRL Letter Article: Hurricane Felix Downgraded, Amateur Radio Nets Stand Down....

ARRL Letter Article: Hurricane Humberto Causes Havoc on the Gulf Coast...

ARRL Letter Article: San Diego Area Hams Activated as Wildfires Ravage Southern California....

ARRL Letter "IN BRIEF" Article: Tornado Touches Down in Michigan, 3 Dead....

ARRL Letter Article: Remnants of Hurricane Noel Hit Northeastern US....

Newsletter Issued: 11/24/2007.

Newsletter Dedicated to ARRL Letter Article Updates and SKYWARN Recognition Day...

The following SKYWARN Newsletter is dedicated to various ARRL Letter

article updates and SKYWARN Recognition Day. In addition, the

National Weather Service in Taunton is looking for feedback on

its Regional Weather Summary product and that information is highlighted

in this newsletter.

Feedback Requested on Regional Weather Summary Product....

Glenn Field, Warning Coordination Meteorologist of NWS Taunton, would

like to know if people still use the Regional Weather Summary product.

This product gives a simplified description of weather that occurred

in the last 12 hours and what relevant weather systems will affect

us in the next few days. It is easy to understand and serves as a

synopsis for Weather Radio listeners at the moment. This synopsis

could be derived from the Area Forecast Discussion product in the

future but this is dependent on demand for the Regional Weather

Summary product.

The following is a link to the Regional Weather Summary (RWS) product as

supplied by NWS Taunton today:

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/box/productDisplay.php?product=BOSRWSBOX

Questions we'd like to have answered by spotters are as follows:

Do you routinely read the RWS product off the Internet or listen for

this on NOAA Weather Radio?

If you do listen or read this product on the Internet, do you find it

useful? What parts of the summary are most useful?

Please send your responses to Glenn Field and Rob Macedo. Glenn Field's

email address is glenn.field@noaa.gov. Rob Macedo’s email address is

rmacedo@rcn.com.

You only need to respond if you listen or read this summary product. If

you don't use this product at all, you don't have to respond. Thanks

in advance for your support in this survey.

SKYWARN Recognition Day (SRD) 2007, Saturday December 1st, 2007 0000-2400 UTC....

The National Weather Service in Taunton Amateur Radio Station, WX1BOX,

will once again be active for SKYWARN Recognition Day 2007. In addition,

for the second straight year, the National Weather Service Gray, Maine

Office will also be active under call-sign, WX1GYX. As of this

newsletter writing, the NWS Gray Maine office was still finalizing

their schedule of what repeaters they will be operating on for this

event.

The following is a schedule of repeaters that will be

utilized along with simplex being utilized during certain timeframes

on Saturday at WX1BOX. We hope Amateurs will utilize this schedule and try and

work WX1BOX during these various timeframes. If you don't hear NWS,

feel free to call for WX1BOX and if the office is monitoring, a

response will be given. When you make contact, give your current

sky condition and temperature as required. Below is the tentative

schedule of operations:

Friday November 30th, 2007:

7:00-7:30 PM: 146.970-Paxton Repeater

7:30-8:00 PM: 147.180-Bridgewater Repeater

8:00-8:30 PM: 145.490-Fairhaven Repeater

8:30-9:00 PM: 146.955-Westford Repeater

9:00-9:30 PM: 146.79-Vernon, CT Repeater (linked via IRLP.)

9:30-10:00 PM: 147.225-Killingly, CT Repeater

10:00-10:30 PM: 146.760-Scituate, RI Repeater

10:30-11:00 PM: 145.470-Danvers Repeater***

11:00-11:30 PM: 146.955-Barnstable Repeater

11:30 PM-12:00 AM: 146.640-Waltham Repeater

**Will Attempt to monitor both the New England Network and the

*WX-TALK*/IRLP Reflector 9219 systems during this entire timeframe.

**Will be on the Litchfield County SKYWARN system in parallel to the

listed frequencies from 900-930 PM.

**It is possible we may switch off to different repeaters or simplex

during time slots if we run out of contacts.

***Will attempt to make contact on that repeater as there may be

issues with the reaching the repeater due to its current range.

Saturday December 1st, 2007:

7:00-9:00 AM: 146.595 Simplex

9:00-9:30 AM: 145.230-Boston Repeater

9:30-10:00 AM: 146.640-Waltham Repeater

10:00-10:30 AM: 146.895-Walpole Repeater

10:30-11:00 AM: 147.225-Killingly, CT Repeater

11:00-11:30 AM: 145.470-Danvers Repeater***

11:30 AM-Noon: 146.79-Vernon, CT Repeater (Linked via IRLP.)

Noon-2:00 PM: 146.595 Simplex

2:00-2:30 PM: 146.955-Barnstable Repeater

2:30-3:00 PM: 146.955-Westford Repeater

3:00-3:30 PM: 146.970-Paxton Repeater

3:30-4:00 PM: 147.165-Exeter, RI Repeater

4:00-4:30 PM: 146.760-Scituate, RI Repeater

4:30-5:00 PM: 145.490-Fairhaven Repeater

5:00-5:30 PM: 147.180-Bridgewater Repeater

6:00-6:30 PM: 146.895-Walpole Repeater

6:30-7:00 PM: 147.000-Dartmouth Repeater

**Will Attempt to monitor both the New England Network and the

*WX-TALK*/IRLP Reflector 9219 systems during this entire timeframe.

**Will be on the Litchfield County SKYWARN system in parallel to the

listed frequencies from 930-1000 AM.

**It is possible we may switch off to different repeaters or simplex

during time slots if we run out of contacts.

***Will attempt to make contact on that repeater as there may be

issues with the reaching the repeater due to its current range.

The following is information EchoLink/IRLP operations during SKYWARN

Recognition Day. Further updates to follow as we get closer to the

event:

SKYWARN Recognition Day (SRD) is December 1st, 2007 and EchoLink and

IRLP will be playing a role in SRD as it has in past years. SKYWARN

Recognition Day is an opportunity for National Weather Service

Forecast Offices across the United States to thank SKYWARN Spotters

for their efforts in obtaining timely severe weather reporting for

the protection of life and property. This is the SKYWARN program's

main mission.

EchoLink and IRLP are just a couple of modes people can utilize to

contact NWS offices during SKYWARN Recognition Day. Many NWS offices

will be on 2 Meters, 440 MHz, HF and other VHF/UHF bands. Details on

SKYWARN Recognition Day can be found on page 64 of the December

2007 issue of QST and can also be found at the following web page

links:

http://hamradio.noaa.gov

As in past years, the EchoLink *WX-TALK* Node: 7203/IRLP reflector

9219 system will be scheduling time for NWS offices in 1-2 hour

time slots to act as a net control to make contacts with spotters

that are on the system. If a NWS office runs out of contacts and

there are other NWS offices on the system, the NWS office acting as

net control can turn it over to a different NWS office to act as a

net control on the system at their discretion.

We'd like to ask NWS offices to do their best to adhere to the

schedule. Sometimes this is difficult due to the number of

contacts received by NWS offices. We ask for everyone's patience

and working cooperatively to respect the time slot schedule.

There are still some time slots open on the system for NWS offices

who might be interested in acting as a net control. If you're

interested, please contact Rob Macedo-KD1CY at kd1cy@voipwx.net

and the time will be scheduled.

Below is the updated schedule for this year as of 11/21/07:

Time in UTC NWS Office Call-Sign

0000-0100: WX1BOX

0100-0200: WX1GYX

0200-0300: WX4MLB

0300-0400: KH6SW

0400-0500: KH6SW

0500-0600: WX9GRB (Confirmed)

0600-0700: WX4HUN

0700-0800: Open

0800-0900: Open

0900-1000: WX7PHX (Confirmed)

1000-1100: Open

1100-1200: WX6MTR

1200-1300: K0MPX

1300-1400: VE4WWO (Confirmed)

1400-1500: WX4HUN

1500-1600: WX1BOX

1600-1800: WX4NC (2 hour time slot and time slot is from last year)

1800-1900: WX0GLD

1900-2000: WX4LWX

2000-2100: WX4MLB

2100-2300: WX4NHC (2 hour time slot is from last year)

2300-2400: W4IAX (Confirmed)

There will be other conference systems utilized for SKYWARN

Recognition Day. They are as follows:

The New England Reflector Gateway System will be utilized by the

NWS Taunton, Mass. and NWS Gray, Maine offices from 0000-0500 UTC

and 1200-2400 UTC. The New England Gateway system is on EchoLink

Conference server *NEW-ENG* Node: 9123, IRLP reflector 9123. If

other NWS offices would like to join the system, they are welcome to

do so.

Also, it is likely that the Western Reflector will be hosting NWS

offices on the Western Reflector on one of the EchoLink/IRLP gateway

channels. Please contact Kent-W7AOR for specific information on the

system. If we receive that information, we will update this posting

to generate additional PR for their efforts.

We are looking forward to another fun SKYWARN Recognition Day on the

*WX-TALK* Node: 7203/IRLP reflector 9219 system, New England Reflector

Gateway system and Western Reflector system. Thanks to all for their

support!

ARRL Letter Article: Amateur Radio Assist Flood Victims in Central Texas....

The following is an ARRL Letter Article on how Amateur Radio assisted

flood victims in Central Texas in June 2007.

==> Amateur Radio and ARES Assist Flood Victims in Central Texas

In floods that have ravaged across central and north Texas for more than

11 days, Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) members were activated

to assist those in need. In those 11 days, 11 people were killed due to

the severe weather conditions. More than 10 inches of rain was predicted

to fall Thursday; the area only received three inches, but more rain was

expected Thursday and Friday, and flash flood warnings were in effect.

In Williamson County, north of Austin, a search has been under way for

two motorists apparently swept off a road. According to the Williamson

County Sherriff's office, a search was underway for a woman and her

boyfriend after their car was found abandoned; the car appeared to have

been swept off the road by flood waters. Almost a week of nonstop rain

-- including 18 inches near Marble Falls in Burnet County, about 40

miles northwest of Austin, on Wednesday morning -- left dozens of people

stranded on rooftops, cars and in trees.

According to Williamson County ARES member Tom Whiteside, N5TW, "The

regular communication infrastructure has been working well, but we are

participating mostly 'just in case.' We have had the Williamson County

EOC staffed since Wednesday morning, and then continuously since 1 AM

Thursday. In that time, we have provided communications at two shelters

-- one at the Georgetown Recreational Center and one at the Liberty Hill

Middle School. We are using both conventional voice and portable Winlink

at the EOC. The Winlink connection is quite handy for sensitive

messages, as well as for passing more complicated intelligence in and

out than could be done efficiently with voice." Williamson County ARES

was activated.

Jim Taylor, NQ5L, Emergency Coordinator for Williamson County,

concurred. "The Williamson County EOC was opened due to the severe rains

in Burnet County, with spill over into Williamson. Rain fall has slowed

with several roads closed and some water rescue efforts. So far, there

have been no reports of fatalities here, but people are still driving

into dangerous situations." Authorities also closed several impassable

roads in Williamson County. Some cars stalled in the high water, but the

occupants escaped.

Saying that helicopter reconnaissance would commence during daylight

hours, Taylor added that two major storm systems to the west are

expected to merge and create a situation with up to 10 inches of rain

expected.

A good deal of damage occurred in Marble Falls and Highland Lakes (Llano

County), according to the National Weather Service and Rick Chapman,

K5RIK, Emergency Coordinator for Highland Lakes. "There are extensive

rains in the area, with a measured rainfall of 1.5 feet over the past 24

hours. This has resulted in many flooding situations in the low areas.

Marble Falls and Kingsland were particularly hard hit. People have been

forced out of their homes by the high water, and low water crossings

were dangerous yesterday, with some still having high levels of water

today."

Chapman added that thus far, "Our served agencies have not requested

ARES/SKYWARN communications support, and we do not deploy without

specific requests. With the saturated soil conditions and expected

additional rainfall, our deployment status may change quickly."

The Texas National Guard dispatched troops and vehicles to Central

Texas, as well as other areas hit by storms from the Oklahoma border to

the Rio Grande Valley. About 150 troops and 50 vehicles were mobilized.

This has been the wettest year on record in Austin, where more than 30

inches of rain has fallen since January, and Dallas-Fort Worth, Waco and

Wichita Falls have near-records. The rainfall has more than compensated

for a drought that much of Texas had been experiencing since 2005, the

National Weather Service said.

ARRL Letter Article: Oklahoma ARES Members Assist with Floods

The following is an ARRL Letter article on how members of Oklahoma

ARES assisted with Floods in July 2007.

==> Oklahoma ARES Members Assist with Floods

Due to record rainfall in June and July in Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas,

many rivers and streams were already swollen or flooding. On July 2,

nearly 15 inches of rain fell in southern Kansas, causing widespread

flooding and damage and sending torrents of floodwater downstream into

northeastern Oklahoma. On July 5, the American Red Cross requested the

Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) to provide communications support

for their damage assessment teams in those flooded areas of Northeast

Oklahoma.

The Caney River, which flows through the city of Bartlesville, Oklahoma,

60 miles north of Tulsa, overflowed its banks, causing flood damage to

homes and businesses within the city, as well as widespread flooding in

the farm lands in other parts of Washington County. In Miami, Oklahoma,

70 miles east of Bartlesville, the Neosho River crested as it snaked in

and around the community. Water up to 10 feet deep filled homes and

businesses and blocked roads and highways.

ARES set up a Net Control Station, and Amateur Radio operators equipped

with handheld transceivers and magnet mount antennas rode along with

each Red Cross Damage assessment team as they surveyed the flood damage

in Northeastern Oklahoma. An ARES Rapid Response Team (RRT) from Tulsa,

led by Larry Holden, KC5KLM, began the operation and the primary group

assisting with the response. Operations to survey to damage began on

July 6 in Bartlesville and continued July 7 in Miami.

The ARES team used the Bartlesville Amateur Radio Club's repeater and

set up a temporary repeater in Miami to aid with communications between

the teams in the field and the Net Control Station. Jeff Lawson,

American Red Cross team leader for the damage assessment teams, praised

the ARES team's professional communication work.

ARRL Letter Article: ARRL Welcomes New Emergency Preparedness and Response Manager....

The following ARRL Letter article was on Dennis Dura-K2DCD becoming

the Manager of Hurricane Preparedness and Response in late July 2007.

We have dealt with Dennis-K2DCD several times over the past several

months and he's already been quite helpful to SKYWARN and ARES in the

region. Below are details on Dennis Dura-K2DCD's background as he

continues in his new position:

==> Dennis Dura, K2DCD, Joins ARRL Staff as Emergency Preparedness and

Response Manager

The ARRL is pleased to welcome Emergency Preparedness and Response

Manager Dennis Dura, K2DCD, to the Headquarters staff in Newington.

Dura's major responsibilities include addressing the development and

implementation of an organizational disaster response plan as well as a

continuity operations plan, complete with supporting procedures and

training. Integral to these plans are the recommendations of the

National Emergency Response Planning Committee (NERPC) report. Dura also

will play an integral part in the management of ARES, and in future

negotiations with served agencies with whom ARRL shares or creates

Memoranda of Understanding.

"By instituting these base components for the organization, the

emergency communications resources of Amateur Radio and the League will

become truly disaster resilient on all fronts," Dura said. "Emergency

communications cannot stand alone. As an organization, we must have

disaster plans in place and know what we must do to continue operations

when they are impacted. Without this, our support to the field will be

lacking."

Dura comes to the ARRL with more than 26 years of experience in the

emergency management field. He started as a volunteer coordinator in his

home township's emergency management program and turned this experience

and training into a consulting career, working on off-site emergency

plans for nuclear power plants and the jurisdictions where they are

sited around the country. At the same time, he joined the American Red

Cross as a volunteer Disaster Consultant in New Jersey, leading to paid

positions as Manager of Disaster Services in St Louis, Director of

Disaster Preparedness in Chicago and a Disaster Preparedness Specialist

in New Jersey.

After some years working in the non-governmental organization side of

the field, he joined the New Jersey State Police, Office of Emergency

Management (NJOEM). Dura progressed through the ranks in NJOEM and

served in numerous positions such as Operations Officer and Hurricane

Preparedness Officer. As a Principal Planner, he was part of the group

to develop the first Terrorism Plan for New Jersey prior to 9/11,

specializing in human services issues, especially Mass Care. As part of

New Jersey's response to the 9/11 attack, he served on a specialized

inter-governmental team to establish the Family Assistance Center at

Liberty State Park.

He left NJOEM in 2003 to become the Deputy State Emergency Coordinator

for the New Jersey Department of Human Services (NJDHS), the position he

held prior joining the League. Dura's focus in NJDHS was spread across

several areas such as Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), Mass

Care and Business/Continuity of Operations.

During his time at the NJOEM, Dura was the Assistant State RACES

Officer. He was also the liaison to the National Weather Service (NWS)

for NJOEM and became involved in the SKYWARN program. Through a

successful grant submission, he was able to secure two National Oceanic

and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) All-Hazards Radio transmitters for

unserved areas of New Jersey. His work on this project resulted in the

Mark Trail Award in 2002. The Chairman of the Mt Holly NWS Forecast

Office SKYWARN Advisory Committee for many years, Dennis has also been a

member of his county ARES program.

Dura said he is excited to be working at ARRL Headquarters. "It is a

tremendous opportunity to take my many years of emergency management

experience and apply all of it to the ARRL. It wasn't a hard move [to

the ARRL] at all -- take the disaster experiences and meld them with a

tremendous hobby...that ends up serving the nation and the world."

Dura holds a BS in criminal justice from The College of New Jersey and

is currently completing graduate level work in homeland security and

emergency management. He is a Certified Business Resilience Manager and

is a member of numerous professional emergency management organizations.

Dura can be reached via e-mail <k2dcd@arrl.org>.

ARRL Letter Article: Hurricane Dean Slams Caribbean Islands....

The following is the ARRL Letter article on Hurricane Dean and how

the VoIP Hurricane Net and the Hurricane Watch Net assisted during

this major Hurricane as Dean made its first landfall in the Caribbean

Islands.

==> Hurricane Dean Slams Caribbean Islands

The VoIP Hurricane Net activated Friday morning, August 17, at 2 AM

EDT/0600 UTC in response to Hurricane Dean's impact on St Lucia,

Dominica, Martinique and other surrounding Caribbean islands. Reports of

damage along with wind estimates and measurements were relayed to

WX4NHC, the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida.

"We've received reports of wind damage. The most significant damage

reports include the roof blown off of a children's hospital in Castries,

St Lucia, two homes with roofs blown off and a banana plantation

flattened in St Vincent. We've also had a few homes with steel roofs

blown off in Trafallgua, Dominica, and a measured wind gust out of the

East-Northeast of 68 knots at the Canefield Airport in Dominica," said

Rob Macedo, KD1CY, Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net.

Clem James, J73CI, and Joseph Russell, J73RJ, on the island of Dominica

and Julien Deider, 9Z4FZ, on the island of Trinidad have been extremely

helpful in relaying reports from the affected area. They are obtaining

these reports through the 75 Meter Caribbean Weather Net and through

local repeater systems where operable and relaying them via EchoLink and

IRLP. "We owe them a huge gratitude. They have a lot going on in their

local areas yet they are relaying any information they can get to us for

the benefit of the National Hurricane Center and the mission to help

save lives," Macedo said.

Julio Ripoll, WD4R, Assistant WX4NHC Coordinator, manning the Amateur

Radio station at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida

reported that the Meteorological Office in Martinique had a measured

wind gust of 88 MPH before Hurricane Center forecasters lost the phone

connection to the Martinique weather office. "We need any stations that

have relays into Martinique by HF or any other means to get in touch

with someone there and relay reports of meteorological data and damage

to the Hurricane Center," Ripoll said.

Cell phone service was knocked out to portions of the western and

southern parts of Dominica as reported by Joe, J73RJ. Power and phone

outages were also reported in St Lucia.

Hurricane Dean will move away from the Caribbean islands and potentially

affect Jamaica and other parts of the Western Caribbean Islands. The

VoIP Hurricane Net and WX4NHC secured operations at Noon EDT as Dean

moved away from the islands.

"We expect to reactivate WX4NHC some time Sunday Morning for Dean as it

approaches Jamaica though things could change," said Ripoll. The VoIP

Hurricane Net is also preparing activation plans for Sunday. -- Thanks

to Rob Macedo, KD1CY

The Hurricane Watch Net has temporarily secured operations following 6

hours of net operations for Hurricane Dean on 14.325 MHz. According to

Net Manager Dave Lefavour, W7GOX, the net will resume at 2200 UTC on

Saturday, August 18, and remain on the air until the band closes as the

storm heads closer to Jamaica. On Sunday, the net will commence at 1200

UTC.

"We provided storm information to the affected area in the Windward

Islands and passed local weather conditions and initial damage reports

from the area to the National Hurricane Center in Miami as Dean moved

through the islands," Lefavour reported.

"We appreciate the excellent cooperation of all amateurs in remaining

clear of the frequency and allowing us to communicate with those

stations in the path of Dean."

As of 1500 UTC, Friday, a hurricane warning remained in affect for

Martinique, Dominica and Guadeloupe, and a tropical storm warning

remained in effect for the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico and a

number of islands in the Lesser Antilles.

A tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch has also been issued for

Haiti form the Haiti/Dominican Republic border to Port-Au-Prince. A

hurricane watch means that hurricane conditions are possible within the

watch area and within 36 hours.

Hurricane Dean was located near 14.6 North, 62.6 West and it was moving

toward the west at 18 knots with maximum sustained winds at 90 knots

with gusts to 110 knots.

ARRL Letter Article: Hawaii Hams Heed the Call of Hurricane Flossie....

The following is an ARRL Letter Article on how Hawaii Hams reacted

to the threat posed by Hurricnae Flossie in August 2007 and how the

VoIP Hurricane Net assisted in this activation.

==> Hawaii Hams Heed the Call of Hurricane Flossie

The VoIP Hurricane Net activated as Hurricane Flossie approached Hawaii

August 14. Flossie was at one time a Category 2 hurricane that passed

75-100 miles offshore of the Big Island of Hawaii. On Tuesday, while

Flossie weakened and was downgraded to a tropical storm, tropical

storm-force winds spread over Hawaii around mid-morning local time

(1700-1900 UTC). If Flossie had deviated to the north, Hawaii would have

been at risk for hurricane force conditions, with a change of as little

as 50 miles north or south making a huge impact to the Big Island. The

other islands in Hawaii were not seriously impacted.

The VoIP Hurricane Net assisted with obtaining reports from Hawaii

SKYWARN and RACES and fed it back to National Hurricane Center

Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R, and his team at the National Hurricane

Center in Miami, Florida. The VoIP Hurricane Net uses the EchoLink

Conference WX-TALK Node 7203/IRLP Reflector 9219 for its operations.

Connie McCurdy, NH7IE (using NWS Honolulu call sign KH6SW), acted as Net

Control for an informal SKYWARN Net that became more formal on Tuesday

as Flossie approached. "The Big Island has declared a State of

Emergency, all schools are closed and many roads have been closed. The

Coast Guard has ordered small vessels to return to harbor on the Big

Island and large ships over 200 tons to leave. We did have an earthquake

near the volcanoes, but no damage. Everything will be closed up

tomorrow; folks are hunkered down to ride out the storm. Also, nine

people from FEMA were sent over and arrived today just in case things

turn out bad for the Big Island," she said.

She said an alert was sent out to Honolulu that high winds and rain were

expected on the Big Island. "We are advised to get supplies and stand by

to be called out to shelters if needed. A net will be set up on our

local repeater 146.880," she said.

ARRL Emergency Preparedness and Response Manager and Assistant Director

of the VoIP Hurricane Net Dennis Dura, K2DCD, said on Tuesday: "We are

monitoring the activity of the VoIP Hurricane Net and the activities of

ARES and RACES is Hawaii. At this time, no assistance is needed, but we

will be prepared to assist the Amateur Radio community and the

government of Hawaii with any communication needs."

A 5.3 earthquake also rocked the Big Island Monday evening at 7:38 local

time (0038 UTC Tuesday morning) centered about 25 miles south of Hilo,

according to a preliminary report from the US Geological Survey. There

were no reports of injuries, structural damage or a tsunami, although

the quake did cause a small landslide, according to Tom Brown, a

spokesman for Hawaii County Civil Defense.

Island of Hawaii Mayor Harry Kim issued a state of emergency Monday

afternoon for the volcanic island's population of 160,000. "We're taking

this all very seriously," said Janet Snyder, Kim's press secretary.

The VoIP Hurricane Net activates when a hurricane affects a land area

that has EchoLink and/or IRLP nodes in the affected area, and a request

to activate comes from local area served agencies such as an EOC, NWS

Forecast Office/SKYWARN program or the National Hurricane Center Amateur

Coordinators in Miami. You may listen to VoIP Hurricane Net on one of

the listen-only IRLP reflectors, which are New England IRLP Reflector

9129 and Australia IRLP Reflector 9508. The listen only EchoLink

Conference is VKEMCOMM node 270177.

For more information on the VoIP Hurricane Net, visit the VoIP Hurricane

Net Web page <http://www.voipwx.net/>. -- Some information from Rob

Macedo, KD1CY

ARRL Letter Article: Dean Downgraded to a Tropical Depression, Hurricane Nets Deactivated....

An ARRL Letter article dedicated to Dean's additional impact/landfalls

on Jamaica, Belize and the Yucatan of Mexico and mainland Mexico.

==> DEAN DOWNGRADED TO TROPICAL DEPRESSION, HURRICANE WATCH NET

DEACTIVATED

The remnants of Hurricane Dean, now Tropical Depression Dean, have

dissipated over Mexico and the heavy rain threat has diminished. The

Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) secured activation for Dean on Wednesday

afternoon at 1915 UTC after commencing operations last Friday. Despite

experiencing very poor propagation and noisy conditions on 20 meters,

the net managed to provide the latest storm advisories from the National

Hurricane Center (NHC) to amateurs and listeners in Dean's path.

As the storm powered through the Windward Islands, scraped Jamaica,

threatened the Cayman Islands, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and finally

crossed into Mexico, HWN was in frequent contact with the affected areas

to collect real-time weather data from local hams, passing it to the NHC

forecasters and informing the affected areas about what to expect next

via official bulletins.

On Tuesday, Dean made landfall near Costa Maya or Majahual at 0830 UTC

as a potentially catastrophic Category 5 hurricane. Earlier in the week,

the storm slammed Jamaica as the eye passed within 50 miles of the South

Coast of Jamaica as a Category 4 hurricane. The VoIP Hurricane Net

solicited reports from any stations in the affected area or any stations

that have contact with the affected area.

"We received numerous reports of estimated winds over 100 MPH in

Corozal, Belize, with roofs off homes, power, electricity and phone

service out in many areas. Similar damage was reported in Chetmual,

Mexico from a relay from Connie, NH7IE, from a friend who lives in

Chetmual, Mexico," said Rob Macedo, KD1CY, Director of Operations of the

VoIP Hurricane Net.

WX4NHC Assistant National Hurricane Center Amateur Radio Station

Coordinator, Julio Ripoll, WD4R, worked to get reports via the VoIP

Hurricane Net and liaison was established with Spanish speaking Mexican

stations on the XE2MCC EchoLink conference node: 255469. Ripoll received

reports directly from that conference via Spanish, and Francisco

Diaz-Gonzalez, NP3OD, from the VoIP Hurricane Net Control team, is

monitoring that conference for reports. "We've received reports of trees

down, power outages from the Telum and Campeche, Mexico, area as relayed

via the XE2MCC conference and from other amateurs," Macedo said.

A report of 16 fishermen being stranded in the Middle Keys on Jamaica

was confirmed by Julien Dedier, 9Z4FZ,from Trinidad, by making contact

with the Trinidad Coast Guard who then verified the report with the

Jamaican Coast Guard. All 16 fishermen took shelter in a Coast Guard

building on the keys and were safe. Dedier relayed numerous other

damage, storm surge and wind estimate reports from Jamaica to the net.

"Thanks for the update on the fishermen and were glad to know they are

safe," said Ripoll.

Ray Weber, KA1JJM, from Western Massachusetts SKYWARN, and Dave Taylor,

KI4YIK, from Rock Hill, South Carolina, both were instrumental in

relaying measured wind data reports. Ray had a contact in Lionel Town,

Jamaica, who was a mariner, and Dave had a contact with a missionary in

Jamaica that had wind instrumentation that clocked sustained wind

speeds. "This is an example of gathering disaster intelligence

information by all means possible which is a huge role for our net. If

we don't have direct contact with the affected area, getting stations

that can relay from other sources from both within the Amateur community

and from other contacts that Amateurs may have in the area can be of

great help," Macedo said.

Between the *WX-TALK*/IRLP 9219 reflector system and the listen-only

conferences, there were more than 150 connections from EchoLink PC

users, as well as EchoLink and IRLP links and repeaters where people

that were interested in Dean's impact on Jamaica monitored. This

included relief agencies that monitored, such as the Salvation Army and

the Southern Baptist Relief organization.

The Hurricane Watch Net activates on 14.325 MHz when a hurricane is

forecast within 300 miles of landfall. - Information provided by HWN

Manager Dave Lefavour, W7GOX, and Director of Operations of the VoIP

Hurricane Net Rob Macedo, KD1CY

ARRL Letter Article: ARES Teams Activated for Northwest Ohio Near Record Flooding....

In late August, Northwest Ohio experienced near record flooding. Below

is an article from the ARRL describing how Amateur Operators assisted

in the flood relief efforts:

==> ARES TEAMS ACTIVATED FOR NORTHWEST OHIO NEAR-RECORD FLOODING

Heavy rains over the past week began taking their toll on Northwest Ohio

communities as near record flood levels peaked on Wednesday. Ohio

Amateur Radio Emergency Service District 1 was especially hard-hit in

the Hancock and Seneca County areas, and a command post at the Seneca

County Emergency Operations Center was activated.

The city of Findlay experienced catastrophic flooding; according to Karl

Erbland, K8ARL, District Emergency Coordinator for ARRL Ohio Section -

District 1, this is the worst flooding in the area since 1913. Hancock

County ARES Emergency Coordinator Bill Davis, N8PTJ, activated Hancock

Emergency Radio Services ARES to provide support to numerous agencies,

including the Hancock County Emergency Management Agency, area fire

departments, American Red Cross, the Sheriff and health district

departments. Two shelters were set up, with the largest taking around

250 displaced persons.

The flooding affected every area of the city. The Blanchard River's

almost-100-year-old record of 18.5 feet was nearly broken by a crest

reading of 18.46 feet on Wednesday afternoon.

The Hancock County hams even had to be resourceful for their own

services. A few days before the major flooding began, lightning struck

the Findlay Radio Club repeater site during another severe storm. Radio

communication during the flood was conducted on a simplex frequency,

with additional support through their 440 MHz repeater.

Reports of cell phone failures and some problems with the state's 800

MHz digital system set the stage for Amateur Radio networks help to

relieve some of these shortcomings. At an information meeting held on

Thursday, EMA Director Garry Valentine, N8GIL, noted that agencies

should learn to count on the Amateur Radio operators in emergencies to

provide communication support, and that Amateur Radio has many

capabilities for communicating. "Our amateurs are always there to

assist," Davis said. "We can count on them in times like these."

Communications activities included the following: relayed from Emergency

Operations Center to fire departments; facilitated delivery of food and

water to Jenera, Ohio residents; assisted in the rescue of two elderly

ladies and two people in wheelchairs; kept County Sheriff aware of road

closures; tracked rescue operations for the Red Cross; tracked displaced

persons being transported to Red Cross shelter; on standby for Water

Command Center and City Command Operations; relayed Health and Welfare

traffic; provided telephone service to some without home phone service;

relayed between Seneca County and Hancock County EMA directors, and

relayed between District Emergency Coordinator and Hancock County

Emergency Coordinator.

Amateurs in Seneca County were put on standby Tuesday, August 21 when

word came that the Ruffing Family Care Center (south of Tiffin, Ohio)

might be in danger from the rising Sandusky River, which runs near the

center's property. County Emergency Coordinator Mike Klaiss, KC8BUJ, and

EMA Director Dan Stahl, KC8PBU, held an on-the-air meeting with ARES

officers and the McCutchenville, Ohio fire chief to review the reports

and predictions from the National Weather Service in Cleveland. ARES

officers remained ready through the evening and Wednesday morning.

Seneca County activated the Emergency Operations Center around 7 AM on

Wednesday as the Sandusky River continued to rise and affect additional

areas in the county.

Seneca County EMA Director Dan Stahl said: "Hams play a big part in the

emergency operations plan and in the communications center at the EOC.

We intend to use all the amateurs in Seneca County during disasters like

these. They provide a trained and reliable pool of communicators capable

of assisting us."

Thursday brought a little relief from the rising waters but then came

the rising temperatures and humidity levels. Disaster assessment was a

hot job as temperatures rose to 91 degrees and similar levels of

humidity. "There is a lot more to do across the entire affected area,"

said Erbland. "Our communities are extremely blessed to have such

dedicated Amateur Radio operators. Our emphasis on ARRL communications

training and the different FEMA courses such as Incident Command System

and National Incident Management System is paying off. We're standing by

for any needed communications as our communities recover."

ARRL Ohio Section Emergency Coordinator Frank Piper, KI8GW, said, "I am

extremely proud of how well the Amateur Radio operators in Hancock,

Seneca and all other counties affected by the weather this past week in

the Ohio Section. This is why we plan and test our communication skills

and equipment on a regular basis." -- Information provided by Karl

Erbland, K8ARL, District Emergency Coordinator for ARRL Ohio Section -

District 1; Bob Copas, K8OIL, Hancock County Liaison/Net Control

Operator, and Bill Davis, N8PTJ, Hancock County ARES Emergency

Coordinator

ARRL Letter Article: Michigan Hams Activated Due to Storms and Tornado....

Michigan Amateurs responded to severe weather from an event that

occurred in late August. See the ARRL Letter Article below:

==> MICHIGAN HAMS ACTIVATED DUE TO STORMS AND TORNADO

On Friday, August 24 at 5:15 PM (EDT), the National Weather Service

issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Genesee County. This storm

produced two tornados in the mid-Michigan area that caused severe

damage to several towns. The greatest damage occurred in the City of

Fenton located just south of Flint. The NWS confirmed that an EF2

tornado had touched down and had torn a path 26 miles long and up

to 0.5 miles wide through Livingston, Oakland, Genesee and Lapeer

County, damaging at least 250 homes and businesses. An EF2 tornado,

using the Enhanced Fujita scale, is a wind estimate of 110-135 MPH

in a three-second gust. More than 12,000 people lost power due to the

storms.

Before the tornado hit, Michigan's Genesee County ARES and SKYWARN

were activated due to a severe thunderstorm watch. The storm moved

into the county with such heavy rain that visibility dropped down to

zero at several points. Funnel clouds were seen in the western part

of the county, but these could not be confirmed. The NWS issued a

Tornado Warning based on confirmed sightings in the adjacent counties

to the west, as well as reports from their Doppler radar.

As spotters continued to watch the storm, Randy Bond, N8VDS, spotted

the funnel heading for Fenton and reported it to the NWS via his ham

radio; Fred Moses Jr, W8FSM, confirmed the sighting. Moments later,

the Genesee County 911 central dispatch center received a call that

the roof on the brand new Tractor Supply Company store in Fenton had

caved in and that the tornado had touched down. About half of the

Fenton Community Center's roof was blown off, and debris from the

building blew across the road to Fenton United Methodist Church.

Genesee County 911 called out the fire departments and activated

their Fire Coordination Plan. Ham radio spotters have an agreement

with Genesee County fire departments to provide supplemental

communications for the departments. Hams were providing

communications via the SKYWARN net and the Fire Coordination net.

As the county's fire departments started to move toward the building

collapse in Fenton, hams were already on the scene. Bond and Mike

Schafer, KB8RVP, shifted gears from weather spotters to Fire

Coordination operators. At the request of the fire chief at the

scene, Bond went to the Fenton City fire station and, using ham

radio, assisted their dispatch center; the storm had damaged their

radio fire communications tower, so Bond and Schafer started working

dispatch for them using their ham radios until the dispatch center

was able to resume normal fire communications.

Jerry Baker, KD8AYL, was next to arrive on the scene at the collapsed

building and after meeting with the Incident Commander, Baker was

assigned the task of setting up radio communications with more ARES

volunteers in the Flint region.

As more reports of damage came in, the Fenton City and Township Fire

Department became overloaded; their crippled communications tower

did not help matters. ARES Emergency Coordinator for Genesee County

Greg Ybarra, N8HXQ, coordinated the response during this incident

and put out a call for help to District 3 Emergency Coordinator

Greg Allinger, WA8OGJ. Allinger contacted other ARES units in the

state, and Amateur Radio operators from nine Michigan counties

responded to the Fenton area to help.

Evaluation of the damage started immediately after the storm. Baker

was reassigned to a relief shelter to aid the Red Cross. What would

normally have been a drive of less than 10 minutes took almost an

hour due to trees and power lines down everywhere. "Trees as much as

36 inches in diameter and more than 100 years old had been ripped

out of the ground by the storm; regular electric power was out and

the damage reports just never seemed to end," he said.

The Genesee County Office of Emergency Management activated their

Mobile Command Unit. The MCU has an Amateur Radio station in it,

as well as radios for all public service organizations. The city

set up a command post in the parking lot of the Fenton City fire

department and began operations from there. Michigan State Police

responded to the area and instituted an 8 PM curfew for everyone.

State and local police set up road blocks. Access was restricted to

police, fire, National Guard, Red Cross, Salvation Army or ARES.

ARES volunteers worked with all aspects of the incident. Damage

reports and assessments continued until 1:30 AM Saturday when the

Incident Commander determined everyone should break until 5:30 AM

to get some rest.

ARRL Letter Article: Hurricane Felix Downgraded, Amateur Radio Nets Stand Down....

The following is an ARRL Letter Article on the Hurricane Watch Net and

VoIP Hurricane Net efforts during Hurricane Felix in September 2007.

==> HURRICANE FELIX DOWNGRADED; AMATEUR RADIO NETS STAND DOWN

As Hurricane Felix weakened rapidly over the mountains of Central

America earlier this week, both the Hurricane Watch Net and VoIP

Hurricane Net secured operations. According to the National Hurricane

Center, Felix could produce total rainfall accumulations of 6-10 inches

across northern Nicaragua and El Salvador, with 8-15 inches over much of

Honduras. Up to of 25 inches of rain was possible in mountainous areas,

with these rains likely to have produced life-threatening flash floods

and mud slides.

On Tuesday evening, September 4, the Hurricane Watch Net secured

operations on 14.325 MHz after more than 20 hours of operation with

Hurricane Felix. Initially commencing operation on Sunday evening,

September 2, HWN gathered names, calls and specific locations of

stations that would be able to report real-time weather conditions in

the affected area and forwarded them to the National Hurricane Center in

Miami. Getting this information beforehand ensured accurate reporting of

a station's location when the storm actually arrived.

Two of the regular Net Control Stations -- Herman Cueva, HR1CP, in

Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and Hector Godoy, HR3HGB, in La Ceiba, Honduras

-- felt direct effects of the storm, but remained on the air available

to help.

In addition to getting real-time reports of conditions in the affected

area, the HWN also put out advisories in English and Spanish so that

stations in the area of Felix's path could know what to expect. These

reports were often relayed to the local authorities and media, since

oftentimes HWN was the only source of information; all power, telephone

and Internet were down. Butch Pieniek, NC4G (ex-WB4CKO), put in long

hours sending out advisories in Spanish.

The Hurricane Watch Net normally commences operation when a hurricane

comes within 300 miles of shore, or at the request of the NHC. It

operates with designated Net Controllers who are experienced in taking

these specific reports, net operations and especially working with the

NHC in Miami. HWN provides the latest storm advisories in English and

Spanish to those in the path of storms. The Hurricane Watch Net is a

directed Net, and requests that non-member stations not in the affected

area refrain from transmitting unless requested to do so by Net Control.

A clear frequency is appreciated, since reporting stations in the

affected area(s) may be utilizing temporary or makeshift antennas,

battery power or operating under conditions that don't allow the

transmission of a reasonably strong signal.

The VoIP Hurricane Net was active from 0800 UTC, standing down at 0000

UTC Tuesday, September 4, to gather reports for WX4NHC, the Amateur

Radio station at the National Hurricane Center.

The President of Honduras lauded Amateur Radio on the Voice of Honduras

radio station: "The President of Honduras, Senor Manuel Zelaya Rosales,

says thanks to the community of radio hams for the aid." Andoni Axpe

Soto, EB1FGO, and a team of translators from the International Radio

Emergency Support Coalition (IRESC) brought this news to the VoIP

Hurricane Net.

IRESC also relayed a report to the VoIP Hurricane Net from Nicaragua TV

that 5500 homes were destroyed, 13,000 people had officially been

evacuated and 38,000 total people were affected by Hurricane Felix.

WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center,

monitored the VoIP Net and other systems to gather reports and

information. Julio Ripoll, WD4R, Assistant WX4NHC Coordinator, said,

"Felix was the second Category 5 Atlantic hurricane to make landfall as

a Category 5 this year. This has never happened before in recorded

history. The ham radio reports will be part of this historic hurricane's

official NHC archives. WX4NHC extends its sincere thanks to all the ham

radio operators from many countries and Nets for being the link between

NHC and those in the path of this extremely powerful and dangerous

hurricane. We hope that our continued efforts to spread the hurricane

warnings will help save lives. Our thoughts and prayers are with those

people who were affected by Hurricane Felix, and hope that they can

rebuild their lives quickly." -- Tnx to John Ellis, NP2B, HWN Liaison

to ARRL, and Rob Macedo, KD1CY, Director of Operations, VoIP Hurricane

Net

ARRL Letter Article: Hurricane Humberto Causes Havoc on Gulf Coast....

The following is an ARRL Letter article on how Hurricane Humberto, which

intensified in the night time hours of September 13th, 2007 caused issues

along the Southeast Texas to Southwest Louisiana corridor.

==> HURRICANE HUMBERTO CAUSES HAVOC ON GULF COAST

Hurricane Humberto, a Category 1 hurricane and the first hurricane to

make landfall in the US in two years, came ashore in Texas on Thursday,

September 13 not even 50 miles from where Hurricane Rita hit in 2005.

Stronger than initially expected, Humberto continued eastward toward

Louisiana and Mississippi, where flood warnings were in effect.

In response to Humberto, several ARES groups were activated. According

to Brazoria County Emergency Coordinator Terry Bowersmith, W5SRG,

Brazoria County (Texas) ARES activated a complex Net at 6 PM Wednesday,

involving repeaters in Freeport and Alvin. One member was dispatched to

the Brazoria County Emergency Operations Center, and another to the

Pearland EOC, while others remained in "standby ready condition. By 9

PM, Humberto had cleared Brazoria County with little rain and no damage,

so we secured the operation," according to Bowersmith.

ARRL Louisiana Section Emergency Coordinator Gary Stratton, K5GLS, said

Alan Levine, WA5LQZ, District Emergency Coordinator for Southwest

Louisiana, reported minimal flood damage in his area, and little wind

damage. "About three spans of power lines down in this area but should

be repaired within a few hours. The weather has cleared that area and

will continue along a projected path across central Louisiana and

Northwest Mississippi today," Stratton said. "We were lucky that the

system spawned offshore and moved inland quickly as a minimal

hurricane."

Orange County (Texas) Emergency Coordinator Rocky Wilson, N5MTX,

reported that as of Thursday, Orange County had a "massive power

outage"; all schools are closed, as are most retail stores and

businesses, until power can be restored, expected sometime on Saturday,

September 15. "Most petrochemical facilities are shut down due to no

power," Wilson said. Many oil refineries are located on the Texas Gulf

Coast.

Humberto didn't even exist until Wednesday, only becoming a tropical

storm that afternoon, strengthening from a tropical depression with 35

MPH winds, to a hurricane with 85 MPH winds in just 18 hours. Only three

other storms have pulled off a similar feat, growing from depression to

hurricane in 18 hours -- Blanche in 1969, Harvey in 1981 and Alberto in

1982 -- but all of them were out at sea at the time, not about to crash

ashore like Humberto. A Bridge City, Texas man died when the carport at

his home collapsed on him; Bridge City is between Port Arthur and

Orange.

ARRL Letter Article: San Diego Area Hams Activated as Wildfires Ravage Southern California....

An ARRL Letter article on how Ham Radio Operators supported and activated for

wildfires that ravaged Southern California in late October.

==> SAN DIEGO AREA HAMS ACTIVATED AS WILDFIRES RAVAGE SOUTHERN

CALIFORNIA

As fires raged through parts of the San Diego area and other areas in

Southern California, ham radio operators did their part to ensure the

safety of residents either affected or threatened by the fires. ARES

groups in San Diego were activated on Monday, October 22 and continued

to assist their served agencies until early Wednesday morning. Sixty

hams were called to service by the County of San Diego's Emergency

Medical Service.

According to ARRL San Diego Section Emergency Coordinator James J.

Cammarano II, KG6R, hams assisted at the San Diego Medical Operations

Center, six trauma centers and 16 community hospitals. Hams served as a

resource, Cammarano said, "to be used in case primary circuits to

hospital communications were lost due to either overload or power

interruptions." In addition to these 60 amateurs, another dozen or so

hams were activated by the Red Cross.

ARRL Emergency Preparedness and Response Manager Dennis Dura, K2DCD,

learned that San Diego ARES volunteers were activated and now they are

in standby mode. "They are ready to go at a moment's notice, but there

are currently no plans for re-activation," he said. As in any emergency

situation, information can quickly change and the ARRL will continue to

monitor the situation and inform members if the situation changes.

As the fires started to spread, hams started a FIRENET on the Palomar

ARC 146.73 MHz repeater. Howard White, KY6LA, of La Jolla, who was among

those who served as net control operator under extremely stressful

conditions, disseminated a preliminary log of his experience. Excerpts

follow:

"With flames starting to engulf the county and no active single source

of information, as best as I could determine Charlie NN3V stepped into

the information vacuum to start the 'FIRENET' as an ad hoc operation on

Sunday afternoon. Early contributors included Gayle K6GO and Gary W6GDK.

Initial operations started by collecting fire information as to fire

location, wind directions, shelter locations and initial evacuations.

Hams provided eyes and ears on the ground where the danger was. Soon

however the fires seemed to be heading down to the Poway area so Charlie

and the other Poway hams needed to evacuate....

"Day One: Is the fire near us? Where is the head of the fire? What

directions are the heads going? What are the winds doing? Should we

evacuate? What roads are closed? What about our animals? Where should we

go? What should we take? What is the route to avoid the flames? Can you

help us find missing people or pets? Can you help us get barrels of

water for animals? Can you help us find food and water? Can you get the

police to deal with looters?

"Unlike Katrina, the questions and answers did not abate at night. It

was nonstop. Terry K3PXX needed routing around the fires to evacuate his

Animal trailer. Terry reported on Fires as he drove through Poway and

back to San Marcos EOC. ROARS hams had evacuated Ramona and the 147.03

repeater and were looking for help to be routed safely out of the area.

Fires broke out in Coronado Hills in San Marcos. People needed to be

evacuated. Brian KF6C asked where to evacuate his 4 children. San Marcos

EOC needed to be activated and FIRENET held the fort for them until they

could get there and became operational to evacuate San Marcos. George

KG6IDE tries to drive up to Ramona to evacuate elderly parents but we

turn him back to avoid the flames...

"0130 Tuesday: N9XF reports flame proceeding down 76 from Fallbrook. Tom

KI6IET, who is blind, but stays at his post as my backup net control,

needs to be evacuated. Evacuation arranged ok. Rob WA3IHV calls from his

office at Palomar hospital to tell us his family was evacuated OK and

horses survived...

"2100 Tuesday: FIRENET hams drive to Qualcomm Stadium and load trucks

with food. Dan leads ham relief convoy with food and supplies to Mira

Costa College. Fire victims at shelter express gratitude for first food

delivery...

"2350 Wednesday: KG6VVN signs off as net control as the 146.730 repeater

runs out of fuel and goes off the air..."

Orange County update: Acting Section Emergency Coordinator Cathy

Gardenias, K6VC, provided this update on the situation in the ARRL

Orange Section as of October 25: "Slide Fire/Green Valley is 17%

contained; Grass Fire is 70% contained. Santiago Canyon Fire was 50% but

was reduced last night as it turned and headed for the Riverside County

border of the Cleveland National Forest.

"Amateur Radio operators have been utilized. The San Bernardino County

Fire EOC has been using ECS and ARES members in the EOC to monitor

communications and other jobs needed. At the command post at the Rim of

The World High School near Lake Arrowhead, ECS and ARES members who have

been fully trained in all ICS and S190 (bush training) are handling

communications and other needs. This is according to Jeff W6JJR DEC for

ARES San Bernardino County and a Public Information Officer (Miles) from

the EOC in San Bernardino. The EOC is at Level III at this time.

"SATERN [Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network] Amateur Radio

operators at all the shelters have been volunteering their time as non

communicators, but as helpers for those who are in need."

As of Friday afternoon, CNN reported that 14 of the nearly two dozen

fires were under control. Nearly 800 square miles has burned in Southern

California, and seven deaths have been blamed on the fires, with dozens

of injuries.

Ron Roberts, Chairman of the San Diego Board of Supervisors estimates

that 560,000 people were ordered to evacuate their homes, and thousands

more were evacuated in San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Orange counties.

Firefighters received help from Mexico, the state and federal

governments and even inmates from California's prisons. About 7000

firefighters were battling the blazes, including 2300 inmates from

California's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, according to

Governor Schwarzenegger.

President Bush visited the area on Thursday and declared a federal

emergency for seven counties: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San

Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura. FEMA Administrator

David Paulison said that the President's action authorizes FEMA to

"coordinate all disaster relief efforts, which have the purpose of

alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the

local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required

emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to

save lives, protect property and public health and safety and lessen or

avert the threat of a catastrophe." Schwarzenegger estimated that at

least $75 million in federal aid would be needed. -- Some information

from The Weather Channel and CNN

ARRL Letter "IN BRIEF" Article: Tornado Touches Down in Michigan, 3 Dead....

This "In Brief" article from the ARRL Letter discusses a tornadic event

that affected Michigan on October 18th, 2007.

* Tornado Touches Down in Michigan, Three Dead: On October 18, a strong

low pressure system centered over Minnesota touched off supercell

thunderstorms throughout Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois,

Kentucky, and Tennessee -- all the way down to the panhandle of Florida.

These storms produced about 35 tornados. Two people died in an EF-2

tornado that touched down in Williamston, Michigan around 10:30 PM EDT.

Three people died as a result of the Michigan tornados. A total of seven

tornado warnings issued for Ingham County with the one confirmed

touchdown near Williamston. These storms also resulted in an EF3 tornado

devastating the city of Nappanee, Indiana, causing extensive damage to

more than 100 homes and businesses. The authorities declared a state of

emergency for the city of Nappanee.

ARRL Letter Article: Remnants of Hurricane Noel Hit Northeastern US....

An ARRL Letter Article on SKYWARN's efforts right here in Southern

New England when the Remnants of Hurricane Noel affected us in the

form of a major nor'easter. The ARRL web article, complete with

pictures can be seen at the following link:

http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2007/11/06/100/?nc=1

The ARRL Letter article appears below:

==> REMNANTS OF HURRICANE NOEL HIT NORTHEASTERN US

After slamming into Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas, Noel (by then an

Extratropical Storm) hit portions of Eastern New England November 3.

Winds up to hurricane force caused significant tree and power line

damage along with minor structural damage. The hardest hit areas were

Southeast and East Coastal Massachusetts as well as Southeastern Rhode

Island. Noel, which had been a Category 1 hurricane after it passed

through the Bahamas, transitioned into a major "Nor'easter" system,

passing less than 100 miles southeast of Nantucket Island off the coast

of Massachusetts.

ARRL Eastern Massachusetts Section Emergency Coordinator and SKYWARN

Coordinator for the National Weather Service (NWS) in Taunton, Rob

Macedo, KD1CY, stated that ARES, RACES and SKYWARN groups in Eastern

Massachusetts were activated Saturday morning. "Activation of SKYWARN

started at 7 AM with operations at our NWS Taunton Ham Station, WX1BOX,

with weather conditions deteriorating after 10 that morning." Carl

Aveni, N1FY, and Phil McLaughlin, KB1CYO, assisted with operations at

the NWS Taunton office.

With sustained strong winds at 25-35 MPH and gusts up to 60 MPH across

Eastern and Southern Coastal Massachusetts and Southeastern Rhode Island

that caused damage to trees and power lines, there were pockets of power

outages across portions of the region. Conditions on Cape Cod, Nantucket

and Martha's Vineyard were far worse. Winds gusted well into hurricane

force resulting in widespread power outages and structural damage,

including damage to trees and power lines.

Cape Cod ARES District Emergency Coordinator and Cape Cod Red Cross

Communications Officer Frank O'Laughlin, WQ1O, said, "I had a wind gust

of 89 MPH at my home in the Marstons Mills section of Barnstable before

having my anemometer ripped off the tower and blown several houses down

and destroyed." Roof damage to a few structures was reported in Falmouth

and Fairhaven, Massachusetts as well as Nantucket Island. The police

communications tower in Harwich blew down due to the hurricane force

gusts.

Roughly 10 VHF/UHF repeaters were utilized during the activation across

Eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Eastern Connecticut. The New

England VoIP Integrated Conference system, EchoLink Node: 9123/*NEW-ENG*

conference server with IRLP reflector 9123, was utilized as a command

Net linking various repeaters together using the Internet. The

Massachusetts State EOC, as well as Region 1 and Region 2 Offices of

Massachusetts Emergency Management serving Eastern Massachusetts, were

also on the system.

The National Weather Service office in Gray, Maine, WX1GYX, was also

active with SKYWARN Operations for Southern Maine and Southeastern New

Hampshire; the New England VoIP Integrated Conference system allowed the

NWS Forecast Offices in Gray and Taunton to keep in touch. "We recently

installed HF at the National Weather Service in Gray and can now have

point-to-point communications with the Taunton office through this

means," said Tom Berman, N1KTA, weather forecaster and SKYWARN Program

Leader for NWS Gray, Maine.

Extratropical Noel moved up into the Canadian Maritimes and caused

similar conditions over Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. -- Some

information provided by ARRL Eastern Massachusetts Section Emergency

Coordinator Rob Macedo, KD1CY; Connecticut SKYWARN Coordinator Steve

Williams, K1SJW, and Rhode Island SKYWARN Coordinator Martin Mendelson,

N1JMA

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert Macedo (KD1CY)

ARES SKYWARN Coordinator

Eastern Massachusetts ARES Section Emergency Coordinator

Pager #: (508) 354-3142

Home Phone #: (508) 994-1875 (After 6 PM)

Home/Data #: (508) 997-4503 (After 6 PM)

Work Phone #: 1-800-445-2588 Ext.: 72929 (8 AM-5 PM)

Email Address: rmacedo@rcn.com

http://ares.ema.arrl.org

http://www.wx1box.org

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