On Friday 12/28/07 I was traveling westbound on I-10 west of Quartzsite in the area where the highway leaves the mountains and canyon east of Ehrenberg. I was picking up radio traffic on 168.725, which could be the Tonto National Forest Admin Channel, or the Cleveland National Forest forest net. The traffic concerned a fire near the Colorado River north of Yuma. A unit was asking a dispatcher about specifics which included directions to take in the area of Winterhaven, California. A local fire chief was alone on a quarter acre fire and indicated a 20 person hand crew was needed. The unit talking with the dispatcher seemed to be a single resource overhead type like a battalion chief or division chief. The dispatcher indicated that pulling together a crew would be nearly impossible due to the time of the year and the overhead unit indicated that he would determine what resources would be needed for the fire once he arrived on-scene. I got the impression that the fire might have been on the Arizona side of the river.
I did not pick up any unit numbers or the call sign of the dispatcher. I find this not only interesting as I can often verify traffic by listening to the unit numbering system or the call sign of dispatch. My scanner was programmed for Arizona and 168.725 was labeled as "TNF Admin" and I began to think that the only way I would be hearing something on the Tonto National Forest would be from the repeater on Mt. Ord getting down through the slot the canyon forms in the mountains west of Quartzsite. The traffic was quite clear, nearly full quieting, and it would seem the terrain would prevent any traffic from the Tonto. I never head the call sign of "Phoenix" that the Tonto dispatcher uses.
The only repeater on the Cleveland National Forest likely to be heard would be Mt. Laguna. Although it would seem as if there is enough terrain to block transmission form this location or at least make it very scratchy. The traffic was somewhat casual and not in the concise and quick manner I'm used to hearing on California radio systems, so it did not seem like traffic from the Monte Vista Comm Center. I did not hear the frequent use of the callusing "Cleveland." For a fire close to the Colorado River, should the fire be on the California side, it would be the responsibility of the BLM in Arizona, as I believe their jurisdiction includes both sides of the area immediately adjacent to the river. In this case it would be in the Yuma Field Office on 168.175, with the likely repeater being Cunningham. If the river is the boundary between the BLM in California and Arizona the fire would have been the responsibility of the California Desert District dispatched by "San Bernardino" on 166.375, with Chuckwalla being the likely repeater in use.
If the fire were on one of the Indian reservations on the lower Colorado, that could account for the casual manner that the communications were conducted with. However, that frequency would be 172.425.
With these thoughts in mind I am even more mystified as to what jurisdiction was involved here and what repeater they were on. Anyone who lives in the Blythe to Yuma area might be able to add a local perspective to this and help me figure this one out. Due to the location involved I'm going to post this on both the California and Arizona forums.
I did not pick up any unit numbers or the call sign of the dispatcher. I find this not only interesting as I can often verify traffic by listening to the unit numbering system or the call sign of dispatch. My scanner was programmed for Arizona and 168.725 was labeled as "TNF Admin" and I began to think that the only way I would be hearing something on the Tonto National Forest would be from the repeater on Mt. Ord getting down through the slot the canyon forms in the mountains west of Quartzsite. The traffic was quite clear, nearly full quieting, and it would seem the terrain would prevent any traffic from the Tonto. I never head the call sign of "Phoenix" that the Tonto dispatcher uses.
The only repeater on the Cleveland National Forest likely to be heard would be Mt. Laguna. Although it would seem as if there is enough terrain to block transmission form this location or at least make it very scratchy. The traffic was somewhat casual and not in the concise and quick manner I'm used to hearing on California radio systems, so it did not seem like traffic from the Monte Vista Comm Center. I did not hear the frequent use of the callusing "Cleveland." For a fire close to the Colorado River, should the fire be on the California side, it would be the responsibility of the BLM in Arizona, as I believe their jurisdiction includes both sides of the area immediately adjacent to the river. In this case it would be in the Yuma Field Office on 168.175, with the likely repeater being Cunningham. If the river is the boundary between the BLM in California and Arizona the fire would have been the responsibility of the California Desert District dispatched by "San Bernardino" on 166.375, with Chuckwalla being the likely repeater in use.
If the fire were on one of the Indian reservations on the lower Colorado, that could account for the casual manner that the communications were conducted with. However, that frequency would be 172.425.
With these thoughts in mind I am even more mystified as to what jurisdiction was involved here and what repeater they were on. Anyone who lives in the Blythe to Yuma area might be able to add a local perspective to this and help me figure this one out. Due to the location involved I'm going to post this on both the California and Arizona forums.
