Alberta ARES Activation, Multiple Ares groups

[kayn1n32008]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPad; CPU OS 6_1_3 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/536.26 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/6.0 Mobile/10B329 Safari/8536.25)

Currently the re is an ARES activation in the Calgary region due to the flooding in Calgary and surrounding areas. At this time Ares Edmonton is staffing the AEMA Provincial Oporation Centre in Edmonton. ARES is utilizing the SARA UHF linked network to pass traffic between High River EOC and the POC in Edmonton.

Currently activated ARES groups:
ARES Edmonton
ARES High River
Calgary Region ARES

We are asking all amateur operators not directly involved to avoid using any SARA repeater system.

Currently the following amatuer repeaters/networks being used:

FARS System (Local resouce coordination in the High River area)

SARA System (message traffic between Calgary area and Provincial Operation Centre in Edmonton for coordination of provincial resources)
-VE6OIL 146.6100 Local Calgary VHF drop repeater linked to wide are network
-VE6REP 145.3300 Reddeer drop repeater (local Reddeer resource coordination(not linked at this time) although Reddeer ARES has been stood down, local Reddeer operators are assisting with provincial net control)
-VE6NHB 145.4100 CURRENTLY OFF AIR due to local repeater issues

VE6QE System (Qurrently linked to SARA, Reddeer acting as Net control for Edmonton to Calgary traffic)

VE6HM System (local Edmonton resource coordination)

VE6RYC 146.8500 PL 110.9 (currently being used for local Calgary Resouce coordination)

All amateur operators are being asked to keep these repeater/systems clear for disaster related coms until further notice.

Any hams that are able to assist are being asked to check in on the local resource coordination repeater in their area ( VE6HM/VE6REP VHF/VE6RYC) and keep the SARA system clear for traffic only related to Local EOC/POC traffic until further notice. There may also be nets active on 3675KHz and/or 7135KHZ although most if not all traffic is being moved on V/UHF repeaters at this time due to poor propagation/high noise levels.

 

[kayn1n32008]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPad; CPU OS 6_1_3 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/536.26 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/6.0 Mobile/10B329 Safari/8536.25)

Additionally for those local in Alberta, this flooding is significantly worse than the flooding of 2005 in the same regions.

 

[kayn1n32008]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPad; CPU OS 6_1_3 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/536.26 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/6.0 Mobile/10B329 Safari/8536.25)

VE6HM System is no longer being used for local coordination.

 

[robertmac]

Most local coordination in Nanton, High River, Blackie, Black Diamond were stood down about 1300 today. Unfortunately, I was not able to monitor most of afternoon. VE6ROT was linked for awhile. For the last couple of hours, now 2125 Calgary time, little local amateur radio activity. Not sure how Medicine Hat is making out as they get the brunt a couple of days later. However, has been an interesting couple of days. Flooding has been amazing. Unfortunately, so have some people, who for no reason, are getting too close to the action and getting swept away. Now comes the clean up and rebuilding which will take months. Fortunately, little loss of lives.

 

[kayn1n32008]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (BlackBerry; U; BlackBerry 9900; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.11+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/7.1.0.746 Mobile Safari/534.11+)

Currently there is one amateur op at Med Hat from Calgary. Lethbridge hospital radio room has one op as well. They are not active tonight. POC will still be staffed untill all deployed amateur assests are home and stood down. All nets are shut down for the night. VE6ROT has been and can be linked to SARA System Via Echolonk, the Central Alberta Amatuer Radio Club has kindly reprogrammed the VE6QE Echo/IRLP (SARA only has IRLP, VE6ROT only has Echolink) node radio to tie into the UHF VE6REP repeater for the duration of this phase of operations. ARES has passed critical information on behalf of emergency management officals, some health and safety. Some area effected lost all normal communication channels, and had only amateur radio to move critical information in and out of some of the effected areas.

Early this morning it appeared that the SARA Uhf system had failed at the temporary Carstairs passthrough that links the Vulcan and Reddeer repeaters.

Shortly before leaving Edmonton to replace what I believed to be a failed PA on the radio facing Vulcan, comms were re-established between both High River and Calgary to Edmonton. Regardless I drove down and did some diagnostics, confirmed power output of Vulcan radio, but could not pinpoint the problem. I left replacement equipment with a Reddeer amater that has site access.

While ARES was recognised for work in Slave Lake, this flooding really did demonstrate that amateur radio operators truly can get info moving when all other systems fail. This disaster, in my 20Years of being licensed, is unprecedented in western Canada, we had at one time 4 separate ARES groups activated in 4 different areas, passing traffic for 4 separate locations over a distance of close to 400Km. And once one area stabilized, groups were asked to provide resources to Medicine Hat, due to potential flooding.

Calgary has tradionally been an area where separate groups do not tradionally work together very well together. All groups, in and ouside of Calgary, have risen to the occasion and have worked extremly well together.

 

[Heterodyne]

ARES was stood down? But....but.... who will eat the donuts?

 

[robertmac]

But But, ARES has not stood down, just FARS. Not 1 donut, it all went to the outcasts in Crowsnest Pass. In fact, some were so busy they didn't have time to even eat. But of course someone sitting in a comfy newspaper office thinking they are sexy just wouldn't understand what working in a disaster is all about. Let alone make fun of it at this time with the utter destruction that occurred and is still occurring!

 

[Heterodyne]

But But, ARES has not stood down, just FARS. Not 1 donut, it all went to the outcasts in Crowsnest Pass. In fact, some were so busy they didn't have time to even eat. But of course someone sitting in a comfy newspaper office thinking they are sexy just wouldn't understand what working in a disaster is all about. Let alone make fun of it at this time with the utter destruction that occurred and is still occurring!

Actually, VE6BGM, I spent most of the past few days alongside people who actually WERE working the disaster, not playing radio and pretending to make a difference while criticizing the real emergency workers over the airwaves.

Enjoy your donut. You've earned it, soldier.

 

[robertmac]

Thanks, but as I stated earlier, no time for donuts. And from the size of you, just saying. I hope you got some real good pictures so you can charge people to see them. Coffee was at the Evac centres, but with shortage of bathrooms and water, thought would leave the caffeine to someone else. After all adrenalin was pushing one much more than caffeine. And yes, we were the first soldiers on the ground, 72 hours before any other soldiers showed up south of Calgary. Even lending a shoulder for someone to cry on, or listen to concerns about missing ones can mean something to those affected. We don't need to flame ANYONE that was out in the muck, wet, mosquitoes trying to help where one could. Even playing radio caused relief to volunteers, evacuees, peace officers, etc.. The efforts of some to keep communications open among health care centres should not be made fun of! If you don't like ham radio, shut your hamsexy site down, give up your license and sell off your radios. I am sure there are many more that are willing to help out where they can.

 

[SCPD]

All ARES operations in Alberta have been stood down by their respective agencies. ARES will remain on standby during the recovery process in the event of a communication failure and are called out. The temporary link between the SARA provincial linking system and the VE6HAT Medicine Hat Elkwater repeater will remain in place until recovery operations are complete. Please keep the system clear for Medicine Hat traffic as priority and all other traffic as secondary.

A big thanks go out for all the resource and personnel support offered across the province. And also a big thanks to all the operators that provided countless volunteer hours to support the served agencies with priority and emergency traffic. It has been expressed by AEMA that without our capability to deploy and adapt it would have made this disaster much more difficult to manage.

Curtis Bidulock VE6AEW
Section Emergency Coordinator
Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC)
Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) Alberta

 

[blantonl]

Thread participants - cut out the bull**** and stay on topic and be professional. This is not the time for chest pumping. Anything else that violates the spirit of this thread will result in infractions and/or banning. You have been warned.

 

[robertmac]

Not being afraid of being banned or posting removed, I guess we have lost free speech even when not flaming anyone. Somethings I just fail to understand when others do the same. But to save starting another thread on this ongoing disaster, two radio related things I will bring up. 1. There is a low power amateur radio repeater set up in High River on 146.700 that is linked to the FARS system. Have not heard a lot on this frequency yet, but 5000 people have still not been allowed back into High River yet. More are to be let in on Wednesday, and some are amateur radios operators so acitivity might pick up. 2. RCMP has set up 155.52 as well which is busy. Power low in Calgary but will probably be used for a couple weeks yet while High River tries to clean up the mess.

 

[SCPD]

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/touch/story.html?id=8632589