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********************************************
The ARES E-Letter
Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************
April 17, 2019
Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE
==> JUST IN: SHELBY, OHIO TORNADO BRINGS ARES/SKYWARN RESPONSE
On Monday, Ohio Section Manager Scott Yonally, N8SY, reported the
following: "We had an EF-2 [indicates wind speeds of 113-157 mph]
tornado come through and tear up the small city of Shelby, about 100
miles north of Dayton, Ohio. The tornado was on the ground for
approximately six minutes, traveling 17 miles and had a width of one
half-mile. We had only six injuries and no deaths, due in part to the
ARES/SKYWARN operations involved in getting observations to the
Cleveland Weather Office in enough time so that warnings were issued
about 10 minutes prior to the tornado actually touching down.
"Richland County ARES was then called to the scene to assist with
communications and security watch until around midnight when the
electric company had restored power lines and secured roads until
daylight when operations would resume. An After Action Report will be
filed in the near future."
Images, video and audio of the event can be found on the section's
website here .
IN THIS ISSUE
- Just In: Shelby, Ohio Tornado Brings ARES/SKYWARN Response
- ARRL National Convention at Dayton Hamvention?: Essentials for ARES?
Community
- ARES Links, Briefs
- "Bomb Cyclone," and Flooding Responses: Colorado and Nebraska
- Personnel Changes to the ARRL Public Service Enhancement Working
Group; Issues to be Considered
- Letters: Expecting Great Things from the New ARES Plan
- Florida Section Emergency Coordinators Meet with State Communication
Leaders
- Letters: Tip for Passing the Basic FEMA ICS Courses
- ARRL Section News
- K1CE For a Final: Bill Santelmann, N1AU, SK
==> ARRL NATIONAL CONVENTION AT DAYTON HAMVENTION?: ESSENTIALS FOR
ARES? COMMUNITY
The ARRL National Convention at Dayton Hamvention is next month, May
17-19, 2019, and will feature ARRL Expo and a number of exhibits,
forums and presentations of special interest to the amateur public
service and emergency communications communities. The event is the
largest of its kind in the world, and will be held at the Greene County
Fairgrounds and Expo Center, 120 Fairground Road, Xenia, Ohio. Official
websites are:
? www.hamvention.org
? www.arrl.org/expo
Great Opportunity for Serious Training: AUXCOMM Course To be Held
Pre-Hamvention -- Register Now
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Returns to Provide
Auxiliary Communications (AUXCOMM) Training in Conjunction with
Hamvention 2019 -- The Emergency Communications Division (ECD) of DHS's
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) will be on hand
at Hamvention 2019 to conduct its nationally recognized NIMS/ICS
compliant AuxComm course. Over 2,500 Amateur Radio operators from
around the country have taken this course. The course purpose is to
train qualified amateurs to assist their local, county and state
governments with emergency backup communications. The course introduces
the auxiliary communicator to the other positions within the
Communications Unit (COMU) and how to provision emergency
communications in a public safety context. The course also goes deeper
into the National Incident Management System framework. The location of
the course is the Courtyard by Marriott in Beavercreek, Ohio, May
14-16. Registration for this class may close early when all available
seats are taken.
Registration for this course is ongoing: Students wishing to attend the
DHS Auxiliary Communications (AuxComm) Course must meet all
prerequisites and provide electronic/scanned images of the required
documents prior to May 1, 2019. More info here
.
Dayton Forums of Interest to ARES Members
Friday, May 17:
Homeland Security -- John Peterson (from DHS/OEC) 12:00-1:50 Room 1
MARS, the Military Auxiliary Radio System -- Paul English, WD8DBY,
10:25-11:25 Room 2
National Weather Service -- Brandon Peloquin 1:10-2:30 Room 2
ARRL Public Service Communications: Panel Discussion -- 2:25-3:40 Room
2
SHARES HF EMCOMM, the Federal government's HF radio system -- Ross
Merlin, WA2WDT 9:15-10:15 Room 4
Saturday, May 18:
AREDN, the Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network -- Andre Hansen, K6AH,
1:50-3:20 Room 2
SATERN, the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network -- Bill Feist,
WB8BZH, 11:45-1:00 Room 5
Sunday, May 19:
Power and Energy for the Ham -- Bob Bruninga, WB4APR 10:30-11:30 Room 1
Tornado Alert -- Mickey Lee 9:15-10:15 Room 3
This year's ARRL National Convention at Dayton Hamvention promises to
be one of the major gatherings of emergency/disaster response/public
event communicators in the country. I am looking forward to meeting and
greeting readers of the ARRL ARES E-Letter this year. See you there!
==> ARES LINKS, BRIEFS
The National Hurricane Conference, featuring Amateur Radio Sessions, is
next week: Amateur Radio will be represented at the 2019 National
Hurricane Conference , April 22 - 25
in New Orleans. "Improving Hurricane Preparedness" is the traditional
conference theme. A series of free Amateur Radio sessions will take
place on Tuesday, April 23, starting at 10:30 AM and continuing until 5
PM. Presenters will offer an overview of their respective organizations
and discuss actions taken during the significant hurricanes of 2017 and
2018. More info here: Amateur Radio Sessions Set for 2019 National
Hurricane Conference
ARRL President Commends Amateur Radio's Volunteer Public Service Role
during National Volunteer Week
(4/8/19)
Department of Defense to Transmit Interoperability Exercise Info via
WWV/WWVH
(3/29/19)
National VOAD Conference 2019, May 6-9, Nashville, Tennessee -- The
National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD) Conference
is unique in that it brings
together volunteers, practitioners, and experts across disaster relief
sectors. Professionals and volunteers in the emergency management field
come to share their experiences, consider new concepts, and develop
whole community solutions to build more resilient communities. The ARRL
is a longstanding member of NVOAD.
The FEMA Disaster Emergency Communications News Clipping and Topics of
Interest, Volume 8, Issue 6, for March 16-31, 2019 featured Amateur
Radio-related items. The first, "WinLink Gains International Notoriety
as a Critical Tool During and After Emergencies" (March 20, 2019), was
submitted by FEMA Region IV Regional Emergency Communications
Coordinator (RECC) Donnie Monette. The article was clipped from last
month's ARES E-Letter article "ITU Teams with Americas' Telecoms and
IARU, discusses WinLink," which highlighted the international
integration of WinLink into emergency response operations. WinLink is a
worldwide email service that is built, operated, and administered
entirely by Amateur Radio operators.
A second item, "Colorado ARES Volunteers Muster for 'Bomb Cyclone'
Winter Storm," March 26, 2019, reported on ARES volunteers in Colorado
stepping up as a mid-month "bomb cyclone" winter storm struck the
state, with heavy rain shifting to heavy snowfall. The storm affected
several states and led to significant flooding in Nebraska. [See
related stories below].
==> "BOMB CYCLONE," AND FLOODING RESPONSES: COLORADO AND NEBRASKA
On Wednesday, March 13, a "bomb cyclone" hit Colorado and affected
multiple states, including causing blizzards in Colorado and historic,
significant flooding in Nebraska. ["Bomb Cyclone" is a colloquial term
used to describe explosive cyclogenesis, the rapid deepening of an
extra-tropical cyclonic low-pressure area. The change in pressure
needed to classify something as explosive cyclogenesis is latitude
dependent]. In Colorado, 96 MPH winds were reported in Colorado Springs
and a record low pressure of 970.4 hPa was reported in Lamar. Accurate
snow measurements were impossible.
On Tuesday, ahead of the storm, Pikes Peak ARES
alerted its personnel by email and the
regularly scheduled Tuesday net and coordinated with a special cadre of
ham radio operators in the newly constituted Pikes Peak Regional Office
of Emergency Management (OEM) called the Special Communications Unit,
or SCU. Most SCU members are also ARES members, but when called up by
the OEM, they wear their SCU hats. The SCU deployed to the Emergency
Coordination Center (ECC) Tuesday night and were ready to operate first
thing in the morning. At the time, the Red Cross did not anticipate
needing Pikes Peak ARES support, so the ARES district only anticipated
performing weather spotting services for NWS Pueblo and relaying status
information to the ECC.
Come Wednesday morning, the timing of the storm had moved up quite a
bit and the Red Cross had changed their mind and were now requesting
ARES operators in four shelters. This created a problem getting enough
volunteers in time and deploying them. Three ARES volunteers were
identified and told to deploy, but by then the weather was so severe,
only one was able to get through and that was a struggle. The only
reason the one did not turn around was he felt it was less safe to try
to turn back.
At the request of NWS Pueblo, a formal weather net was established and
ran in the formal mode for more than 10 hours, despite the Net Control,
Sid White, K4ARM, and his back-up, Dick Stuart, KD8EQ, both losing
power for several hours (KD8EQ was without power for roughly 24 hours).
Both the SCU operators in the ECC and the NWS were able to directly
interact with the approximately 70 operators who provided reports
during the storm and its aftermath. The net would continue in an
informal mode for another 16 hours until the SCU operators were
released from the ECC.
While the net started out as a weather net, it quickly became a common
way for operators to report stranded motorists, requests for
assistance, abandoned vehicles, Good Samaritan rescues (important so
that the ECC could clear police, fire, rescue, and National Guard units
from responding), shelter status, and requests about road conditions
(the road conditions were "STAY PUT"). Estimates are that around 1000
to 1500 motorists in El Paso county were stuck by the storm, with some
motorists not being rescued until the next day.
This event drove home the importance of a few things: First, be
prepared. Second, get the message out early and get volunteers
identified ahead of time, even if the served agency indicates they
won't be needed - it is easier to tell someone to stand down than to
get volunteers at the last minute and then deploy them too late. Third,
never self-deploy. Many of the people who got stuck were people who
went out on their own to rescue someone else - we do not want our
operators to become the incident. Next, your own safety is paramount.
If you don't think you can safely do what is asked of you, don't.
Fifth, while Good Samaritan rescues are great, they cause a huge
headache for the Incident Command and Coordination Centers. People need
to check in with their IC or ECC/EOC or their served agency and they
need to coordinate what they are doing. In this case, resources were
wasted and lives were endangered because incident teams were dispatched
to rescue people who had already been rescued by loosely organized
groups of 4-wheel drive equipped Good Samaritans.
And finally, when police, fire, OEMs, NWS, news media, etc. are telling
people to stay home or seek shelter, follow their advice. There were
way too many people on the roads to begin with despite the approaching
storm having been talked about for days and warnings being issued.
Whether people thought that just because they have a 4wd or SUV they
would be OK, or they thought it wouldn't be that bad, or they just felt
that they had to go buy something that day, they put a lot of lives at
risk.
The Pikes Peak ARES operators and their SCU brethren performed a great
service to their community, but hopefully we won't see another
bombogenesis event for a long while. -- John Bloodgood, KD0SFY,
Emergency Coordinator and Public Information Officer,
Region 2 District 2, Colorado ARES (Pikes Peak ARES)
Personal Perspective from the Nebraska Flood
The March 2019 flood response in Fremont, Nebraska, commenced on
Wednesday, March 13, 2019, in Dodge County Emergency Manager Tom
Smith's office in the Dodge County Courthouse in Fremont, with the two
of us discussing the situation. I was there to provide him with weather
information via the National Weather Service (NWS), and to set up
Amateur Radio communications support. The Thursday, March 14 rainfall
report showed additional rain had fallen and Smith requested two
additional operators. It was apparent that this was going to be a major
flood operation, so Emergency Manager Smith and I moved to the Fremont
Police Department where he set up the Emergency Operations Center
(EOC), with phones, emergency power, and Wi-Fi, located adjacent to the
911 Communications Center.
Melvin Cunningham, K0VLA, established Omaha Metropolitan Medical
Response System communications and base station at Methodist Fremont
Health, and Steven Narans, WB0VNF, reported to the Lutheran Church
shelter. They were relieved later by Frank Veverka, K0AJA, and Joseph
Means, N0XAT, who was mobile and sent images and reports of the
flooding. Other amateurs sent photos and reports to the base station
and system.
On Friday, Cunningham was asked to report to the EOC at 7 AM; I joined
him at 10 AM. Field operations continued with Narans coordinating the
placement of the volunteer hams. I provided three weather briefings a
day at the EOC; answered weather questions and handled most of the
coordination with the NWS. I coordinated with ARRL Nebraska Section
Emergency Coordinator Edward Holloway, K0RPT, obtaining additional
radio amateurs.
As the flood operation continued, it became apparent that regular
emergency management communications were holding up; we were there as a
back-up service. The EOC closed at 5 PM on Friday, March 22, as the
disaster response transitioned into the recovery mode.
Over the course of my career with the NWS, I supported EOCs many times,
but this was the first time that I actually operated in one. It has
been an educational, enlightening, and rewarding experience. I did
something that I thought might be making a difference in my own town in
need, with my own friends. I am sure that is true for all volunteers in
general and specifically for all the Amateur Radio volunteers. -- Dave
Theophilus, W0NRW, Dodge County ARES
[Steve Narans, WB0VNF, who was assigned by Theophilus to the shelter at
the First Lutheran Church to help set up communications, filed this
report (summarized): "We began to take in evacuees. The situation in
Fremont continued to worsen with more residents affected - the shelter
was stretched beyond capacity. Three more shelters were opened but the
number of evacuees continued to rise. The amateur operators helped with
the traffic flow of evacuees, incoming donations, ran hundreds of
messages, and assisted with shelter needs for four days. Operators set
up and operated a station at the Volunteer Resource Center (VRC) at
Clamar School, which helped us with communications flow between the VRC
and the shelters. We also helped set up a food and supply distribution
center for affected residents, and provided communications.
"On Tuesday March 19, I was appointed to help process donations coming
in from around the country. On Friday, March 22, I was given the task
of finding a warehouse for donations and supplies. I worked with the
Salvation Army and AmeriCorps to develop a system of receiving,
inventorying and shipping to two locations. Storage items included
household furniture, appliances, and basic bedroom supplies, which
included mattresses, bedding and blankets. An additional warehouse
received all the donations for the victims of our flood - hygiene
supplies, bottled water, food, clothes, bathroom supplies, etc.
"The system work flow went perfectly, but they were many trips, near
misses and confusion every step of the way. We worked through it,
worked together as a team and made it work. I am now looking at ways
that we can serve other cities in Dodge County. Every day is
evolving."]
NOAA Warns of Increased Flood Risk this Spring
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently
released the U.S. Spring Flood and Climate Outlook
.
The majority of the country is expected to experience above-average
precipitation this spring, increasing flood risk. Portions of the
United States - especially in the upper Mississippi and Missouri River
basins including Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska - have already
experienced record flooding this year. This early flooding was caused
by rapid snow melt combined with heavy spring rain and late season
snowfall in areas with high levels of soil moisture. The latest
information for a specific area, including official watches and
warnings are available at http://water.weather.gov
.
==> PERSONNEL CHANGES TO THE ARRL PUBLIC SERVICE ENHANCEMENT WORKING
GROUP; ISSUES TO BE CONSIDERED
With the completion of a number of the major tasks that it had been
assigned, including the establishment of the ARES Plan
,
a standard set of principles and guidelines for emergency preparedness
volunteers, and the launch of the new volunteer database management
program ARES Connect, a number of the original members of the Public
Service Enhancement Working Group (PSEWG) have decided to step down and
let another group of volunteers lead the PSEWG on to the next phase of
tasks that need to be accomplished.
ARRL Roanoke Division Director George "Bud" Hippisley, W2RU, is now the
new chairman of the PSEWG, taking over that role from Great Lakes
Division Director Dale Williams, WA8EFK. Williams stepped away from the
PSEWG chairmanship upon being named chair of the ARRL's Programs and
Services Committee, to which the PSEWG reports. Also joining the PSEWG
as a new member is Northwestern Division Vice Director Mark Tharp,
KB7HDX. Tharp takes over for Pacific Division Director James Tiemstra,
K6JAT, who has been elected to the ARRL Executive Committee. Another
original member of the PSEWG who recently stepped down from the group
is former Northwestern Division Director Jim Pace, K7CEX, who decided
not to run for re-election this past year.
Continuing members of the PSEWG are ARRL Emergency Preparedness
Assistant Ken Bailey, K1FUG; ARRL Field Organization Team Supervisor
Steve Ewald, WV1X; and ARRL Communications Manager David Isgur, N1RSN.
Among the issues that the PSEWG will be tackling in the months ahead:
? Developing a system for collaboration between ARES and the National
Traffic System.
? Updates to the ARRL's EC-001 and EC-016 courses.
? Roll out of an ARES Taskbook
? Review and update of the ARRL's Ham Aid Kits Deployment Policy
Currently the PSEWG conducts most of its deliberations by email coupled
with a weekly or bi-weekly teleconference. Outgoing Chair Williams and
Incoming Chair Hippisley both expressed their appreciation for the
extensive ongoing support being provided to the PSEWG by HQ Staffers
Ewald, Bailey, and Isgur. Hippisley also thanked Williams for the work
he has done in leading the PSEWG since its inception more than three
years ago. "I am grateful for the foundation that Dale and his team
have established for us to build upon in the months ahead," Hippisley
said.
Also, the PSEWG wishes to express its thanks to the many field
volunteers and emergency communications groups that provided input and
review comments on the way to creating the ARES Plan that was approved
at January's Board meeting. Hippisley added that he expects the PSEWG
to again solicit and incorporate field input as it continues working on
its remaining tasks.
==> LETTERS: EXPECTING GREAT THINGS FROM THE NEW ARES PLAN
There are great things in the future for ARES with the program's new
Strategic Plan - the ARES Plan
-- and the training recommendations in the plan. I am anxious to see
what the complete training program will look like, complete with the
Task Book that is mentioned. I believe that the Task Book will be a
good thing as it will be proof to emergency managers that the operators
have an idea of what they are doing and may open some more doors to
Amateur Radio. -- Jerry Palmer, N3KRX, ARRL Emergency Communications
Course Mentor
==> FLORIDA SECTION EMERGENCY COORDINATORS MEET WITH STATE
COMMUNICATION LEADERS
Fort Myers, Florida, February 25, 2019 - Florida's three Section
Emergency Coordinators (from the Northern, West Central and Southern
Florida ARRL Sections) met in February with State Emergency Management
communication leaders to discuss improved integration of Amateur Radio
during emergencies. The importance of Amateur Radio was realized in the
aftermath of Hurricane Michael's destructive impact that directly
affected communications from the area. In some counties, it was the
only means of communicating with emergency management officials.
A problem in coordinating these volunteer communicators was a lack of
an effective Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between ARES and the
State of Florida. During the meeting, this element was discussed, and a
draft was presented for further consideration. The MOU, if agreed upon,
will make ARES and Amateur Radio a valid resource that can be easily
requested for an incident. Ben Henley, KI4IGX, West Central Florida
Section Emergency Coordinator, said that "For the first time ARES will
be integrated into the State Communication Team." This concept is one
that is not currently established within the system and has resulted in
the inability to pre-stage Amateur Radio assets prior to an incident
like a hurricane.
It was discussed how important the first 24 hours are during an
incident when normal communication systems fail, requiring an effective
backup service like Amateur Radio. To facilitate deployment of
communication resources more effectively, the three Sections previously
agreed to work together as one entity during an incident. According to
Henley, "There is better cooperation among all three Florida Sections
and the State of Florida."
Changes to the current way in which ARES operators are credentialed,
trained and deployed are necessary also. For this to happen it will
require effort from everyone in the Florida Amateur Radio community.
Karl Martin, KG4HBN, the Northern Florida Section Emergency
Coordinator, said "This is a team effort -- without the team working
together we get nothing accomplished."
The SEC's and State leaders look forward to working together in the
future to ensure an effective response when Amateur Radio backup
communications is requested. - John Wells, W4CMH, ARRL PIO and Southern
Florida Section Emergency Coordinator
==> LETTERS: TIP FOR PASSING THE BASIC FEMA ICS COURSES
I found an item that is very helpful if readers need help passing the
introductory ICS courses -- go here and download this document:
https://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nims/NIMS_AppendixB.pdf
It has a complete table of all the positions and their leaders and
assistants with explanatory material on all portions of the Incident
Command System -- it is just like the Armed Forces making every single
boot camp recruit learn the chain of command in their branch. Keep this
readily at hand while you are working your way through the ICS courses
and looking at their exams; it may help significantly. -- Gordon Gibby,
KX4Z, ARRL Emergency Communications Course Mentor, Gainesville, Florida
==> ARRL SECTION NEWS
NVIS Day in Ohio
The ARRL Ohio Section is running its NVIS Day Saturday, April 27, 2019,
from 10 AM-4 PM local time. Near Vertical Incidence Skywave, better
known as NVIS, is a technique that allows operators to use HF
transceivers for highly reliable short-range communication.
The goal of the exercise is to have stations ready to establish and
maintain high-reliability communication with other stations around Ohio
when repeaters, phone, and internet service are impaired. When
infrastructure isn't there, HF radio using NVIS propagation offers the
ability to stay in contact on frequencies of 2-30 MHz for distances of
about 30-400 miles. The exchange is six-digit grid square, power, and
true--measured--signal report. Ohio amateurs can inform others when
they'll be operating, and how to find them by registering here
. -- C. Matthew Curtin, KD8TTE,
Ohio Assistant SEC; and Stan Broadway, N8BHL, Ohio SEC
==> K1CE FOR A FINAL: BILL SANTELMANN, N1AU, SK
If it wasn't for my Elmer (mentor), Bill Santelmann, N1AU, who passed
away recently, I may not have composed this newsletter for you. More
importantly, if it wasn't for Bill, I may not have enjoyed Amateur
Radio so passionately for these past 43 years. Bill looked like a
character out of an old Gil cartoon: he had a round, jovial face always
with a big grin. Most of all, he loved helping new hams like me
discover the wonders of Amateur Radio, especially contesting and public
service. As a new ham in 1976, Bill extended to me a warm invitation to
join the Lexington (Massachusetts) Amateur Radio Club (LARC), which I
accepted. I served the club as newsletter editor, and when in 1979 I
interviewed for the position of Membership Services Assistant at ARRL
HQ, I presented several issues of the newsletter as evidence of writing
ability. Bill played a profound role in not only my avocation, but my
professional career as well. Thanks, Bill. - Rick Palm, K1CE
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