This thread has been an interesting roller coaster. OP wants be alerted to fires in the immediate area? Vagrant has the closest solution here, and I have done the same when in a very rough terrain area in high fire danger. This will work. You'll need a scanner in the house cranked up to full volume. If indeed sheltered by terrain, the scanner will remain quiet until something is happening right on top of you.
1. Listen to the assigned air tactics frequency for your area. Their transmissions will reach down into your hole, guaranteed, with any nearby fire. This might be too good though, and you might hear incidents that are of no immediate impact to your location. Defer to 2 and 3 then.
2. Listen to the assigned ground tactics freqs for your area. This will be low powered mobile and handheld simplex transmission on the fire line, which given your sheltered location, you'll likely only receive if a transmission is nearby.
3. Listen to the repeater input of your CalFire Local Net and when someone is close, you'll hear them. But this could be for any Calfire response in your area, including medical aids and traffic collisions.
PM me your location and I can get you all three of those freqs. I sort of live and breath calfire radio.
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