That would be great! Last year on the big sur fire I had so many frequencies I didn't know what was wha and the wiki was that so great. Lucky Exsmokey knew some of the frequencies, but some were new to him and he didn't know them.
There has been more change to the NIFC system in the last two years than in the ten years since I retired. The biggest change is in the logistics, camp, and linking frequencies (all UHF). These are the least listened to and my source would be burned if I shared them so I haven't updated the Wiki using that information. Maybe someday!
With this system of selecting frequencies from unused federal frequencies in an assigned area (four in California) we may see a lot of different frequencies used when the first 12 command channels are not used, all the air to ground (7 of them permanently assigned) and all 7 tacticals are not assigned. The search function will have to be used when near a large fire or other incident.
Do not forget to scan the four federal government interagency tactical channels that we allocated when the narrow band mandate of Jan. 2005 started to be implemented. I listed those on the Wiki. These might be used as tacticals. They are listed as crew net frequencies (intra-crew) which can be used in the analog mode with different PL's being used by each crew, or in the digital mode using NAC's. I have heard of them being used as tacticals on large fires, primarily on federal fires with very few state and local resources assigned as they are all narrow band. As state and local agencies implement narrow band you will see more use of these 4 frequencies.
I had removed 163.100 and 168.350 in my large fire and natural resource scan lists because the NTIA Redbook of 2005 listed these as being allocated for federal itinerant portable repeater use only, not to be used simplex. I've already seen some frequency assignments shown in the Southwest Geographical Area Coordination Center 2009 mobilization plan as a simplex travel net. I've picked up on some other information that the Northern and Intermountain GACC's are doing the same, even though I don't have information for 2009 in these areas. The mobilization plans for all but California and the Southwest do not list frequency information that is accessible to the public. I've put them back into the scan lists of my files.
These might even still be used for tacticals in National Parks. In California the two parks with the heaviest workload (Yosemite and Sequoia-Kings) now have their own air to ground and park tactical frequencies unique to each park. It would not surprise me if parks such as Death Valley are still using 168.350 as their tactical. If you don't hear anything on 168.350 in use as a tactical then try one of the four interagency tacticals that I spoke of before.
Theads of this type start winding up at this time of the year. Due to fires occuring all winter in Texas and a strong fire season in the southeast, this fire season is already significantly ahead in acreage than average. All he agencies have already accomplished over 1.8 million acres of controled burns this year and something just above 3 million acres is the record. Hopefully this will keep up and a record will be set, it all depends on fuel moisture and weather. Prescribed burniing is needed to improve and/or restore forest health.
Time will tell as to how significant this fire season will be in the west.
A large change in fire policy occured over the winter. Not all human caused fires will be extinquished. In the past only naturally ignited fires wer allowed to burn as a wildland fire use fire. Now, if the human caused fire is beneficial to the resources it will be allowed to be a wildland fire use fire.
