Cal Fire Portable Repeater Use

[es93546]

The database shows two Command repeater frequency pairs, Commands 5 & 11, with the notation "Portable Repeater Use." This could be interpreted to mean when portable repeaters are used on an incident these two frequency pairs will be used. I just finished looking at a lot of fire Incident Action Plans, specifically looking at the ICS 205's (Incident Communications Plan). on the Wolf and Rosa Fires. I noticed that on these fires a portable repeater was used, but on Commands 1 and 2. In each case an existing Command 1 or 2 was employed at a location where a fixed repeater already existed. However, to fully cover the fire an additional mountaintop or hill had a portable repeater set up on C1 or C2. The wattage of the portable repeater is far less than the permanently installed repeater so it will be more difficult to monitor (lower volume and signal quality). This configuration has been observed only in southern California.

I'm not sure if the signals from each repeater is transmitted on the other repeater (multicast network) like federal systems are often configured to do when multiple command repeaters are installed to cover a large incident. I have seen some National Forest channel plans where special frequencies or special tones are assigned to work on portable repeaters (the Tonto and Coronado NF's in Arizona for example).

So far I've only found comm plans where a portable repeater is used to supplement the coverage of C1 and C2. I haven't found any supplementing the coverage of the regional command nets (Commands 3,4 6-10 & 12). I believe we will observe this in the future, however. I think the state will be purchasing additional portable repeaters, which should allow portables to supplement coverage on an increasing number of fires.

By the way, Tone 15 was used to access these repeaters on these two fires. Cal Fire doesn't usually assign that high of a tone on most of its nets.

 

[es93546]

I made an error in my thinking in my last post. The configuration on these two fires cannot be a multicast network as the output frequency of the the permanent (fixed) repeater and the portable one are identical. The portable repeater allows coverage that the fixed repeater cannot cover. Federal multicast command networks have a different frequency pair for each repeater and thus can have multiple repeaters to simultaneously transmit. .

 

[norcalscan]

Tone 15 is reserved for portable repeater access CalFire CMDs 1, 2, and 11. CMD11 can use any tone since it doesn't share fixed infrastructure in the state. CESRS portable repeaters use tone 16.

 

[es93546]

Tone 15 is reserved for portable repeater access CalFire CMDs 1, 2, and 11. CMD11 can use any tone since it doesn't share fixed infrastructure in the state. CESRS portable repeaters use tone 16.

What about Command 5, it is also reserved for portable repeaters?

 

[norcalscan]

What about Command 5, it is also reserved for portable repeaters?

Not sure. I have not seen or messed with Command 5 yet since its re-introduction into the comm plan.

 

[ca836]

The CAL FIRE portable repeaters are rarely used (for a multitude of reasons). By time a team is ordered and in-briefs, a starter kit is already on the way from the cache and the NIFC infrastructure will be deployed to support the incident. There is a time and a place for the PRVs but its rare. If they are used, they are standalone and on a separate tone (15 or 16), there is no way to link them.

 

[es93546]

The CAL FIRE portable repeaters are rarely used (for a multitude of reasons). By time a team is ordered and in-briefs, a starter kit is already on the way from the cache and the NIFC infrastructure will be deployed to support the incident. There is a time and a place for the PRVs but its rare. If they are used, they are standalone and on a separate tone (15 or 16), there is no way to link them.

I think this will be changing in the coming years. Once they get the gear to link portable repeaters to fixed comm sites they will be using portables more often. One challenge to this is the availability of linking frequencies that can be reserved for statewide use. I think they want to wean off the need to use NIFC systems. They had to heavily rely on them back in 2020 when they had several major fires at once. I think Command 11, for portable repeaters only, was allocated shortly after that heavy fire season. The saving grace of that season is that the lower elevation fire season was backing off about the time the upper elevations started burning. If the two regions had burned at the same time the NIFC systems would have been in short supply and frequency use allocations would have been enormously challenging. Since that season the number of tactical and air to ground frequencies has greatly increased. Looking at the future Cal Fire really needs to be independent and not use the NIFC systems.

 

[norcalscan]

I don't think Calfire has ever shied away from NIFC kits, they're ordered up as soon as they're needed. Usually fixed infrastructure relieves pressure for a few days, especially if the fire stays within its RF footprint, and if it's actively burning into day 3, it's an IMT-sized incident anyway, which already has NIFC starter kits getting punched out from Redding, Ontario or Riverside. It also depends on the fire's rate of spread. If it slows and stays well within a fixed-infra footprint, and that resource isn't expected to be needed elsewhere for the duration of the incident, they might stay on it. But those instances will be rare, since fixed-infra is valuable for that spillover relief from IA, and nobody wants command traffic gridlocked from 2-3 rapid growth IA's. If it's racing and looks like it's going well-extended, local PSC techs who know what's left from right will order a starter kit on day 1, ahead of an IMT just to have in hand and avoid the reflex time from an IMT order.

You might see the CalFire portable gear used for localized all-hazard (non-fire) significant incidents, Superbowl, Olympics, Marathons, Floods, CBRN, etc. And they can and have been linked using NIFOG resources, with either adjacent Codan modules, or with JPS interop linking two radios etc. And P25/Big-E can be invoked as well for stickier situations.

 

[es93546]

I didn't mean to imply that Cal Fire has shied away from NIFC systems. I think they saw they might have to rely more on their own radio resources rather than NIFC sources based on the 2020 fire season. The agencies were lucky, not only for NIFC systems, but for crews, engines, dozers, water tenders. The lower elevation fires, several of them being major, occurred much earlier than the major fires at higher elevations. Cal Fire's response was to add a lot of new frequencies, tac, air to ground and just one new regional command. 26 tactical frequencies with 14 duplicated with a 67.0 RX/TX tone is a lot when compared with other state forestry agencies.

It is just my opinion that the radio powers-to-be must be thinking they need to greatly expand the availability of command nets similar to the NIFC system, but with state frequencies. The existing system of Commands 1 & 2 at fixed locations along with the newer "Regional Commands" have coverage problems.

Someone must of looked at 2020 and made the observation, "what if all those fires were going at the same time?" What if we had another 1970 fire season, but with the type of intense burning conditions that we have now. We think we are experiencing the worst conditions now, but I'm sorry to say it, but I think maybe we haven't.