Hams Provide Communications as 911 Service Goes Offline in Oregon

Hams Provide Communications as 911 Service Goes Offline in Oregon -(Dec 24, 2008)


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Due to massive snow and ice storms, portions of Oregon's District One -- shown in yellow -- were without 911 service. Hams in that area assisted local communities by providing direct communications support for the 911 system.



With snow and ice impacting all parts of the Pacific Northwest, local ARES® groups are on the job assisting served agencies, including local Emergency Operations Centers. According to District Emergency Coordinator for Oregon's District One David Kidd, KA7OZO, amateurs in Clatsop County, Oregon providing direct emergency communications support for the 911 system.


"The Clatsop County ARES Unit received a call from the County Emergency Manager on Monday afternoon to help out with 911 service," Kidd said. "The unit is helping out with this, providing 911 services for four villages and hamlets in the southern part of the county. Residents in the area have been told to go to the hams and have them relay their needed service requests to the county EOC." Hams are at fire stations or sheriff's sub-stations in the affected area.


Two ARES personnel, along with the resident deputy, are manning the sheriff's sub-station in Jewell. "They are providing 24 hour radio communication services to the county EOC with regular Net check-ins," Kidd said. "The first two hams on duty were relieved by two other hams early Tuesday morning. This will continue on a daily basis as needed, until the services are restored." On late Tuesday afternoon, Kidd told the ARRL that amateurs had been asked to stand down, as 911 service had been restored.


Kidd said that the American Red Cross is setting up shelters and warming stations in the area: "They have 70 heater meals and blankets for people that need them if they shelter there or need a hot meal. ARC personnel will be operating shelters and warming stations as long as necessary. The area is expected to be without power until after Christmas"


Kidd stressed that the other five counties that comprise Oregon's District One -- Columbia, Tillamook, Washington, Clackamas and Multnomah -- are prepared to support operations in Clatsop County if needed.


Other counties in the District, Kidd said, have been "severely impacted by snow and ice":

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  In Clackamas County, more than 16,000 customers are without power. "We have severe road conditions with packed ice and snow," Kidd relayed. "There are numerous wide-covering power outages all over the county that Portland General Electric (PGE) is working on as fast as they can. I have 10 inches of snow, with an inch and a half of ice on top of it, at my home right now." In Columbia County, there are reports of "major road issues with ice," but no major power issues at this time.
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  Chains are required in all of Washington County. There are minor power outages in the county, and the County EOC is in contact with EOCs in Vernonia and Tillamook Counties. "The Washington County Emergency Coordinator told me that on Monday afternoon, it started to snow again at his location, and an additional 2-6 inches that evening was being forecast," Kidd said.
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  The Tillamook County Emergency Coordinator reported that there were "phone issues" in a switching station in Sheridan. The telephone company sent people in to fix it, Kidd said, but "there was so much smoke, the repair personnel had to back out on their hands and knees. They had localized 911 capability, so emergency telephone calls are not affected, so the situation isn't as bad as it was."
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  Multnomah County -- home of Portland, Oregon's most populous city -- reported severe road conditions with packed ice and snow. "PGE is working on the numerous large power outages all over the county. Chains are required in the Portland area. The eastern part of the county remains under blizzard warnings, with high winds, blowing snow and terrible road conditions," Kidd said.

ARRL Oregon Section Manager Bonnie Altus, AB7ZQ, lives in Sheridan, a town in Yamhill County, just south of District One. She told the ARRL she has been without power since Sunday afternoon and does not know when power will be restored: "I fire up the generator a couple times a day so I can get online and get caught up on the news. Getting into town requires 4WD. We had our second generator hooked up to pump water from the well, but then one of our neighbors asked if we had a spare generator because their livestock water was frozen and they needed to pump water to the barn, so we put some water in the tub and filled three 15 gallon containers with water and hauled that generator down for them to use. We have a 500 gallon tank out with the well, so we can carry water in if necessary. We also have a wood stove so I have coffee and heated up soup for lunch."


According to the National Weather Service (NWS), a winter storm warning for heavy snow and freezing rain is in effect through Thursday afternoon for the North and Central Oregon coast, the Willapa Hills and the central Oregon Cascades and foothills. Additional accumulations of 1 to 2 feet are possible, with the heaviest amounts expected in the Cascades. The NWS advises that if you must travel, keep a flashlight and water in your car for emergencies.

http://www.arrl.org/images/sty-down.gif Previous: In Nevada, Hams Are NWS's Eyes http://www.arrl.org/images/sty-up.gif Next: Oregon Still Feeling Impact of Winter Storms

In Nevada, Hams Are NWS's Eyes


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Winds of over 140 MPH severely damaged the National Weather Service's NEXRAD radar system in Reno Nevada. [Photo courtesy of NWS].


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A close-up of the damage caused by the hurricane-force winds to the NEXRAD radar in Reno. [Photo courtesy of NWS].



With winter upon us, and inclement weather coming almost daily in one form or another, the wind and its treatment of mountaintop equipment is a major concern. According to ARRL Nevada Section Emergency Coordinator Don Carlson, KQ6FM, the mountains of Northern Nevada take their share of beatings, but he said that in this case, "winter has certainly come in like a lion. On December 19, a major winter storm hit the area, bringing with it hurricane-force winds to high elevations." Gusts of more than 140 miles per hour battered the mountain, damaging sensitive electronic weather gear, including the NEXRAD radar system used by the National Weather Service office in Reno.


"Fortunately, Northwest Nevada has a very active team of amateurs who are members of the National Weather Service's SKYWARN weather spotter program," Carlson said. "Since the demise of the radar system, NWS Reno has asked spotters to assist by providing real-time weather information via Amateur Radio."


Carlson said that Dee Arnold, KA7LOZ, manned WX7RNO, the amateur station at the NWS Reno office to take reports that came in from a very large area of the region. At times when no one is available to actually be on site, weather service personnel turn the 2 meter radio on and monitor reports that can be delivered at any time of the day or night. "We will have to be their eyes for the time being until the radar site can be accessed and repaired, which may not be for some time and could be several weeks," Arnold said.


Spotters file reports on the Wide Area Data Club's high-level linked system that covers a good portion of both Northern Nevada and North Central California. "The Amateur Radio SKYWARN weather spotters will remain on duty giving reports until further notice, as another storm approaches the area over Christmas," Carlson recounted. "Amateurs have also been providing highway information over mountain passes during the recent flurry of early winter storms."

Wow! 140MPH! And I thought the 90MPH wind we saw here in Ohio from Ike was bad...

We get 65 - 70 here where I live on occasion. More on the plains, but in town that's the limit.

I was sitting in the hot tub the other day watching the "Windex" (a little wind pointer on top of the mast on the boat) whipping around frantically, looking for the direction of the breeze and was shocked and impressed when it did a swing through 360 degrees. My wife thought it was hilarious for some reason, I guess that the winds were coming from "everywhere at once" hah