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The ARES E-Letter

October 18, 2017
Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE

A Hurricane Season To Remember -- And It's Not Over

This year's epic hurricane season and matching amateur service provider
responses from the major players such as the Hurricane Watch Net, SATERN, the
WX4NHC station/operators adjacent to the main forecasting room at the National
Hurricane Center in Miami, the VoIP Hurricane Net and others, and the smaller
but no less significant ones such as local and county ARES(R), CERT, RACES,
SKYWARN REACT and other ARRL Field Organization appointees/groups that staffed
and supported Red Cross shelters, EOCs, National Weather Service Forecast
Offices, hospitals and many other facilities in and outside the threatened and
devastated areas, to some almost unprecedented, historic support events such as
 the sending of 50 radio amateurs, the "Force of Fifty," to Puerto Rico at the
request of the Red Cross, have all contributed to a hurricane season to
remember. There has been extensive coverage of the radio amateur responses
across the board in numerous media, including the ARRL news and information
services, and extensive support for the amateur efforts coming from ARRL HQ
staff including Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike Corey, KI1U, who traveled
to Puerto Rico to support the team of deployed radio amateurs.

For comprehensive information, check the following links: To start off, see
this page, www.arrl.org/pr-carib or www.arrl.org/K1M, which includes
information, resources and news summarizing the amateur response that has been
supporting emergency communications to aid hurricane recovery efforts in Puerto
 Rico and throughout the storm ravaged Caribbean. See the following links for
information of Amateur involvement on each of the respective hurricanes:

www.arrl.org/irma

www.arrl.org/harvey

www.arrl.org/maria

IARU Region 2 Announces Ham Aid Donation of Funds and Equipment (10/6/17)

Make a donation: Donate to Ham Aid

___________


Florida Statewide Policy on ARES and Other Volunteer Communicators Issued

During last month's hurricane emergencies, the ARRL was asked to share the
following from the Communications Branch Director of the Florida Division of
Emergency Management:

"The State of Florida appreciates the service of ARES. State of Florida SEOC
and its staff will never request individuals or provide individuals any
information on an incident. All requests for individuals in the ARES program in
 the State of Florida will follow the North Florida ARES Plan and direction of
their Section Manager Stephen Szabo (WB4OMM). Absolutely no direct
communications to the SEOC or its staff is to be made by individuals to request
 to be deployed or provide services at anytime."

"Any amateur wishing to volunteer to assist needs to go through the ARRL
Northern Florida Manager Steve Szabo's established processes, as that is the
system Florida Emergency Management is utilizing to coordinate Amateur Radio
activities. Under no circumstances should individual Amateurs contact Florida
Emergency Management.

"We also remind ARRL/ARES volunteers who may be assisting in support of the
ongoing relief and recovery efforts that the only persons who should be
speaking on behalf of the ARRL or its field organization are the ARRL Section
Manager or their Public Information Coordinator/ Public Information Officer.
Unfortunately we have had reports of false information being apparently shared
via Amateur Radio channels. This type of misinformation can negatively affect
the hard work being done by various Emergency Management agencies involved, as
well as the various agencies also providing
assistance, and can be harmful to the efforts of the Amateur community trying
to assist in the response and relief efforts. ARRL SMs, PICs, and PIOs only
provide information publicly where it has been vetted by state officials, and
only as directed. Unauthorized false reports can seriously and negatively
impact the work of relief and recovery officials as well as damage the good
relationships that Amateurs have in those relief and recovery communities. Let
the trained PICs/PIOs do their jobs!

"Thanks to the hundreds of Amateurs who are providing communications assistance
 as this story continues to unfold. With everyone working in concert and
through appropriate channels, your work is helping make a difference." -- Dan
Henderson, N1ND Assistant Secretary, the American Radio Relay League, Inc.
Regulatory Information Manager

___________


Massive Destruction of Lives and Property in Northern California Firestorms;
Amateur Radio in the Mix of Support and Responders

As if the hurricane disasters were not enough, northern California is grappling
 with wildfire disasters of proportions possibly not seen ever before. For a
report on the amateur emergency service response to the horrific firestorms
there, see Ham Radio Bridging the Gap in Wildfire-Stricken California. ARRL
Section Manager Evacuates When Fire Comes Within Two Blocks. Check regularly
for more reports and updates here.


In This Issue:

 *  A Hurricane Season To Remember -- And It's Not Over
 *  Florida Statewide Policy on ARES and Other Volunteer Communicators
    Issued
 *  Massive Destruction of Lives and Property in Northern California
    Firestorms; Amateur Radio in the Mix of Support and Responders
 *  VoIP Hurricane Net Secures after Nate
 *  Drop, Cover and Hold On -- ARES Invited to Participate, Tomorrow !
 *  Statewide California Medical Exercise Next Month; Amateur Service
    Provider Participation Planned
 *  4th Annual National Tribal Emergency Management Conference
 *  First Responders' Media Give Kudos to Amateur Radio Role in Disaster
    Relief
 *  Section News
 *  K1CE For a Final: Notes from Irma

Other News: Radio Amateurs Volunteer to Support 2017 US Air Force Marathon
(9/26/17)

For Monthly ARES Reports and Stats: ARES Annual/Monthly Reports. Check to see
if your Section's ARES activity is included. If not, check with your Section
Emergency Coordinator.


Pacificon 2017 This Weekend: Don't Miss It!

Pacificon 2017 is the ARRL Pacific Division Convention, sponsored by the Mount
Diablo Amateur Radio Club, and will be held this weekend, Friday through
Sunday, October 20-22, in San Ramon, California, at the San Ramon Marriott
hotel. Bill Feist, WB8BZH, National SATERN Liaison, Divisional Disaster Liaison
 for Alabama-Louisiana-Mississippi, will be speaking on both Saturday and
Sunday: The Saturday Session will cover SATERN and Amateur Radio Emergency
Communications In The 21st Century; Sunday's session will address Salvation
Army and SATERN disaster response to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

Feist, a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM), is currently the Divisional
Disaster Liaison for the Alabama-Louisiana-Mississippi (ALM) Division of The
Salvation Army. He is responsible for interfacing with all federal and state
agencies and non-profit organizations active in disaster work in the three
states. He is also the National SATERN Liaison for The Salvation Army. He
helped guide the Division's response and recovery efforts in a large variety of
 major events including Hurricanes Ivan (2004), Katrina and Rita (2005), Gustav
 (2008) and Isaac (2012). He also initiated the response to the devastating
tornado outbreak of April 2011 in Mississippi and Alabama.

Other public service programs will be presented: Kenneth Finnegan, W6KWF, will
present Communications Infrastructure for Special Events -- Supporting the
Wildflower Triathlon. SKYWARN Training will be offered by Brian Garcia,
National Weather Service; Paul Young, K6PDY, founder of NorCal SKYWARN; and Ron
 Bunch, W4FEK, Mount Diablo ARC Emergency Communications.

Don't miss Pacificon this weekend!

______________________________________________

VoIP Hurricane Net Secures after Nate

The VoIP Hurricane Net activation for Hurricane Nate secured on Sunday, October
 8, at 2:00 AM EDT/1:00 AM CDT after Nate made landfall near Biloxi,
Mississippi. Nate spared the New Orleans area any significant wind damage and
storm surge flooding but pockets of tree and wire damage and wind gusts to
hurricane force were recorded in parts of Mississippi and offshore oil
platforms in the Louisiana coastal waters. Storm surge values of 3-7 feet were
recorded in portions of Southern Alabama, Southern Mississippi and extreme
Southeast Louisiana. Some pockets of structural damage were recorded in parts
of Mississippi/Alabama from higher wind gusts in severe thunderstorms or
possibly tornadic activity. One tornado was spotted in Orange Beach, Alabama by
 both The Weather Channel media and an Amateur Radio operator that was in the
area. Reports from Nate can be seen at the VoIP Hurricane Net viewer.

While Nate was not as formidable as past hurricanes worked this year, reports
of SKYWARN reporting criteria were supplied to both local National Weather
Service Forecast Offices and WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio station at the National
Hurricane Center, which is the net's main mission to help save lives. Thanks to
 all for their continued support of the VoIP Hurricane Net! - Rob Macedo,
KD1CY, Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net


Drop, Cover and Hold On -- ARES Invited to Participate, Tomorrow!

Citizens and hams will practice how to Drop, Cover, and Hold On at 10:19 AM on
October 19 - that's tomorrow -- during Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills, which
began in California in 2008, and is emphasizing the historically
earthquake-prone state again this year. All regions of the country are invited
and expected to be active in this important exercise. Participating is a great
way for your family or organization to be prepared to survive and recover
quickly from big earthquakes- wherever you live, work, or travel. ShakeOut is
also a major activity of FEMA's Ready program America's PrepareAthon! -- ARRL
is an affiliate program of the DHS initiative Citizen Corps. Those amateur
groups that cannot hold their ShakeOut drill tomorrow can select another date
when registering.

The ShakeOut organization has published basic instructions for how Amateur
Radio operators from ARES, MARS, RACES, REACT, and other organizations and
their members can plan their drill, tips for getting prepared, and suggestions
for sharing the ShakeOut with others.

Register your group to be counted in the ShakeOut Drill, get email updates, and
 more information. Encourage all members to register their families. Consider
what may happen in a major earthquake and plan what your group will do now to
prepare, so that when it happens you will be able to recover quickly.

Talk to other radio groups about what they have done, and encourage them to
join you in getting more prepared. Meet with your members and colleagues to
plan your drill according to your existing procedures or by using one of the
four levels of sample drills in the ShakeOut Drill Manual for Non Profits and
Other Organizations (PDF). Plan an emergency communications drill to test your
group's abilities to provide communications support in a disaster. Download
audio and video "drill broadcast" recordings to play during your drill (Video
versions have text captions).

On October 19, at 10:19 AM:

Drop, Cover, and Hold On: Drop to the ground, take Cover under a table or desk,
 and Hold On to it as if a major earthquake were happening (stay down for at
least 60 seconds). Test your communication infrastructure and conduct an
emergency communications drill. Finally, practice what else your group will do
after the shaking stops. After your drill is complete, have discussions about
what was learned and incorporate these lessons into your disaster response
plan.

Visit MyHazards (California Emergency Management Agency) to discover the
hazards that exist in your area and learn how to reduce YOUR risk! Help your
members and their families to get prepared. More information is in the Seven
Steps to Earthquake Safety. Test alliances and MOU's with your critical
partners, community leaders and sponsoring organizations. Participate in a CERT
 training course. Members should check and test their emergency equipment -
fire extinguishers, first aid, flashlights, food, generator, fuel, etc. --
Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills


Statewide California Medical Exercise Next Month; Amateur Service Provider
Participation Planned

This year the 2017 California Annual Statewide Medical Health Exercise will
take place on Thursday, November 16, 2017, with Amateur emergency service
groups expected to participate. The Statewide Medical and Health Exercise
Program consists of four phases (Multi-media Training, Organizational Self
Assessment, Tabletop Exercise, and Functional Exercise) where each phase helps
to build on and prepare for the next phase. The program is based on the
Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) and aligns with
Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP)/Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP)
 grants.

Amateur Radio operators around the state support local hospital and medical
functions with redundant wireless communications as a component of this annual
drill. There are about 350 hospitals in California that participate. From San
Diego ARES to the Bay Area Hospital Net (BAHN) and other specialized hospital
teams such as ARES LAX (Los Angeles County), Orange County's Hospital Disaster
Support Communications System (HDSCS) and Kaiser Permanente Amateur Radio
Network (KPARN), all participate in this exercise. If you are an amateur
service operator in California and wish to participate, contact your local
ARES, RACES or club.

ARRL Los Angeles Section ARES (ARESLAX) supports the Los Angeles County EMS
agency and the County's 74 "9-1-1 receiving" hospitals. Amateur Radio is a
formal component of the County EMS Agency's Communications Plan, and ARESLAX
support is part of its implementation through reference in the County's
Prehospital Care Manual. Accordingly, ARESLAX provides primary emergency
communications support at the County Medical Alert Center (MAC) and at most of
the 9-1-1 receiving hospitals, except for the Kaiser facilities, which are
supported primarily by the Kaiser Permanente Amateur Radio Network (KPARN)
group. For next month's exercise, ARESLAX will be deploying at the MAC and at
most of the supported hospitals. One of this year's exercise objectives for
hospitals is to test a Joint Commission (a healthcare accrediting entity)
Standard that mandates as part of its Emergency Operations Plan, the hospital
prepares for how it will communicate during emergencies. One of the sample
tasks is to test redundant backup communications systems (of which Amateur
Radio is listed as an example) to achieve a Joint Commission Element of
Performance.

KPARN coordinator Duane Marriotti, WB9RER, is soliciting members to support the
 KPARN planned participation, and reports that the Woodland Hills KP hospital
has new coax installed to resolve intermittent issues. KPARN Northern
California is budgeting to completely update the regional command center
Amateur Radio station and antennas in Oakland, which will include new HF
systems to improve and assure HF paths from Northern to Southern California.
KPARN in Seattle and Portland also have HF capabilities.

The Orange County Hospital Disaster Support Communications System (HDSCS) will
be participating with requesting hospitals and county Emergency Medical
Services. The HDSCS coordinator, April Moell, WA6OPS, says that specifics of a
drill, such as exact frequencies, details of scenarios at individual hospitals,
 and who will be assigned where, are not discussed on the air, or outlined in
non-HDSCS publications to keep activity as realistic as possible and to
maintain the integrity of the drill prior to the event. Of course there are
written instructions and a meeting prior to any big drill for members. The
SWMHE is not an Amateur Radio drill; it is a hospital drill. A lesson learned
over almost 37 years of experience with as many as 36 different hospitals, is
that HDSCS communicators must learn to drill with the hospitals, not just at
them. Moell emphasizes the importance of realistic drills. Too many drills are
mostly "demonstrations" of capabilities. But do the hospitals and/or EMS know
how to activate an amateur service provider group, rather than having
everything set-up and everyone in place when the fire bell rings and then the
drill starts? Do hospital staff learn about sending messages via Amateur Radio
or do the hams create all the messages? Individuals, radio groups, EMS, and the
 hospitals learn the wrong things as a result and/or have unrealistic
expectations as to what happens when hams show up or don't know how the hams
can help. "The overall goal is that if we train and drill properly, hopefully
we won't be able to tell a drill from the real emergency," Moell said.


Exercise "A Real Test of Interoperability" in Southern California

HDSCS members recently participated in the second all city/county RACES and MOU
 partners drill of the year. This is a rapid paced drill testing city and
county RACES groups, HDSCS, and Red Cross in getting messages through to one
another in two hours. It's a real test of interoperability forcing radio
operators to move around to different frequencies to pass their messages. And
with a very busy net, operators are also required to prioritize the messages
they are asked to handle. The scenario involved a major heat wave that
ultimately led to a countywide power outage. This caused problems for
hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living settings, particularly for those
without generators. With traffic lights out, intersections were gridlocked.
HDSCS members simulated being at 22 hospitals and the Health EOC. One member
actually deployed to the county EOC to handle a position for HDSCS in the RACES
 radio room. Approximately 35 messages were handled on
behalf of the hospitals. - April Moell, WA6OPS, HDSCS, Orange County,
California

[Editor's Note: A year ago the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
(CMS) issued the Emergency Preparedness Requirements for Medicare and Medicaid
Participating Providers and Suppliers Final Rule, which "establishes national
emergency preparedness requirements for Medicare- and Medicaid-participating
providers and suppliers to plan adequately for both natural and man-made
disasters." It poses a potentially profound opportunity for Amateur Radio
emergency communication providers in hospital settings. Click here for the new
Federal rules, which must be met by next month; see also September 2017 QST's
Public Service column for discussion.]


4th Annual National Tribal Emergency Management Conference

During the week of September 18-22, 2017, the largest gathering of tribal
disaster preparedness, recovery, hazard mitigation, and homeland security
professionals in the country took place in the ARRL San Joaquin Valley (SJV)
Section. This conference was hosted by the Tachi-Yokut Tribe at their Santa
Rosa Rancheria in Lemoore, California, and ARES/RACES was once again a mainstay
 of the program.

As part of the pre-conference activities on Monday and Tuesday, Hal Clover,
AD9HC, a professional adult educator, taught a Technician license class and
achieved a 100% pass rate. Newly licensed amateurs were Gary Walker, KM6MWX,
Tribal Council Chairman, North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians in the ARRL SJV
Section; James McCabe, KM6MWV, Emergency Manager, Susanville Indian Rancheria
in the ARRL Sacramento Valley Section; Adrian McDonald, KD2OGJ, and Katrina
Jacobs, KD2OGK, both with the Emergency Planning Office of the Saint Regis
Mohawk Tribe in the ARRL Northern New York Section; Steve De Los Angeles,
KI7QEH, Tribal Council Member, Snoqualmie Tribe in the ARRL Western Washington
Section; and Elizabeth Klute, KI7QEI (ex-KA7RYZ), Northwest Regional Emergency
Manager (OR/WA/ID/MT/ND), Emergency Management & Corporate Security (EMCS)
Department, National Railroad Passenger Corporation - Amtrak.

The Tulare County ARES set up and supported a special event station (W7NTV) on
the lawn just outside the conference rooms for all five days. One of the
station volunteers, Jackey Burns, KK6VOJ, said, "Supporting this event is
personally very important to me as one of my grandparents was a full-blooded
native American, and this gives me a way to connect." During the conference,
the station exchanged Priority messages on 20 meters between the Tribal Liaison
 Officer with the Centers for Disease Control (who was attending the
conference) and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida regarding a
physician needed by the tribe in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.

Hams were involved in the conference program as well. Scott Mercer, KM6FKL, was
 part of the Tachi-Yokut color guard during the opening drum. Nathan Nixon,
N7NAN, presented "Emergency Support Function 2 - Communications" and "ICIN -
Indian Country Intelligence Network." Elizabeth Klute, KI7QEI, spoke about
"Amtrak Safety for Tribal Responders." Jim Lundsted, N0TWR, with the DHS Office
 of Emergency Communications, presented "Collaborative Emergency Management
Planning and Resources" and gave another talk explaining the activities of his
office. Steve Aberle, WA7PTM, hosted a "Getting Started with Your Handheld Ham
Radio" workshop, which included a live practicum during which attendees were
able to practice radio communications and overcome mic fright. Adam Geisler,
KJ6YHN, moderated an interactive discussion about FirstNet. Tracy Depew,
KI7EGC, gave a presentation titled "FEMA HMA External Stakeholder Working Group
 and PDM in Indian Country."

Throughout the week, tribal and non-tribal conference attendees visited the
special event station. Hal Clover, AD9HC, a DEC in the SJV Section, put
ARES/RACES involvement at the conference into perspective, "Locally, the tribal
 community contributes to their surrounding community. It was great to be able
to work with them to promote amateur radio. Our hope is that it will foster an
interest that will broaden the good will of the hobby between both partners."

The National Tribal Emergency Management Council, the organizers of these
conferences, has already announced that the 5th Annual Tribal Emergency
Management Conference will be held August 20-24, 2018, at Airway Heights,
Washington. -- Steve Aberle, WA7PTM, Assistant State RACES Officer (Tribal
Liaison), Washington State


First Responders' Media Give Kudos to Amateur Radio Role in Disaster Relief

"Sometimes it seems we simply assume our communications networks and the
Internet will be available all the time, but during Harvey, Irma, and now
Maria, many learned that communications capabilities, one of the most important
 links for all of us, may not always be available when we want them and need
them. While our infrastructure companies work at making our systems better,
there are times when nature's fury beats our best efforts. The good news is
that when all else fails there will still be amateur radio!" -- All Things
FirstNet. Read the full story. -- ARRL Sacramento Valley Section News


NPR Covers Amateur Radio Disaster Support in Puerto Rico Relief

On September 29, NPR's "All Things Considered" program aired a report on the
service that radio amateurs are providing in response to aftermath of Hurricane
 Maria in Puerto Rico. Listen to the report.


Section News

Section News: 2017 Western Pennsylvania SET "Very Successful': Saturday,
October 7th was the date for the ARRL Western Pennsylvania Section's 2017 SET.
In the weeks leading up to the event, the section's DECs and ECs worked hard to
 finish all the preparation it takes to have a great exercise, and that was the
 result. At 9:00 AM, the WPA ARES Voice Net was called up, with the next four
hours filling the airwaves with messages and reports of ARES SET activities.
Both National Weather Service stations WX3PIT and WX3CTP were operational and
on the air to accept SKYWARN reports from the field. K3MJW was on the air as
the Section Incident Command station, and established ongoing communication
with the District Command Stations.

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