QRZ! Ham Radio 5/QRZ Ham Radio Callsign Database - Volume 5.iso/files/races/1988.002

Text File | 1994-11-13 | 39.9 KB | 727 lines

RACESBUL.027
SUBJECT:  GROUNDING SYSTEM    Date: 06 Jul 88
     Scientists working on a U.S. Army grounding analysis project
have shown that grounding with the standard 6-foot metal rod, or
even several rods, is often unsafe and more often inadequate for
good low noise communications.  They have found that a better
ground can be established by stapling a 100-foot length of
standard 1/8-inch stranded steel wire to the earth every 4 inches
with 6-inch pegs.  A 3 pound hammer (in lieu of the 10 pound
sledgehammer sued on ground rods) should be sufficient to drive
in the pegs.  Tests at all sites in the country show the surface
wire to be from 35% to 95% more efficient than the 6-foot
grounding rod.  (Courtesy of WORLDRADIO and the Sacramento
Amateur Radio Club's "Mike and Key". --- KH6GBX.)

RACESBUL.028    SUBJECT: ORGANIZATION: RECRUITING VOLUNTEERS
Date: 11 JUL 88
     This message may be considered a continuation of the
"Organization" series (RACESBUL.019 through 022).
     At one extreme is the government administrator who feels
that a volunteer can't be expected to do a job as well as an
employee.  The other extreme is the employee who feels that
anyone who is expected to accept responsibilities and meet
minimum performance expectations should be paid; i.e., "If you
expect me to do that, then you should go hire someone!"  Both
extremes, of course, are unacceptable in successful volunteer
programs.  Again, RACES is only as good as government expects it
to be, allows it to be, directs it to be and trains it to be.
     Perhaps you have heard of a recruiting problem -- not at all
unusual:  "We would like a RACES unit but we can't find a RACES
Officer."  What they are saying is that they cannot find a ham
with the requisite organizational and management skills this
position requires.  There are at least four steps an agency
shouldn't overlook in finding their Radio Officer:
     (1)  First, prepare a written position description for the
Radio Officer and a general statement of standards and
expectations for all the RACES personnel.  (These are available
from this or any Region Office and are very helpful in briefing
any potential applicant; it is better to state these items up
front to minimize your disappointment in signing up the joiners,
non-producers, the unmotivated and inexperienced volunteer.)
     (2)  Ask your local hams or Amateur Radio club(s) to propose
Radio Officer candidates.
     (3)  Ask the next higher RACES echelon if they can provide a
Radio Officer.  This is a common and effective method.  A county
may be able to provide an experienced Radio Officer for one of
its cities, and the State might be able to transfer a skilled
individual to a county in need.
     (4)  Make known your requirements to the ARRL ARES (American
Radio Relay League's Amateur Radio Emergency Service) emergency
coordinator.                   ---KH6GBX

RACESBUL.029    SUBJECT: THE CALIFORNIA EARTHQUAKE          Date:
18 July 1988
     (The following are excerpts from an article, "The California
Earthquake", by Robert S. Hoover, KA6HZF.  It is a thought
provoking paper that should be of interest to all hams and
emergency services managers.  This controversial) article was
transmitted in sections: Bulletin numbers 029A through 029H.)
     California is going to have a catastrophic earthquake within
thirty years.  It's as inevitable as it is unavoidable, a natural
geophysical phenomenon we can neither prevent nor avoid.
     There are earthquakes and there are Major earthquakes and
there are these horrendous killers called Great
Earthquakes---seismic events with an intensity of Richter 8 and
up.
     In 1983 an earthquake struck the little town of Coalinga and
shook down some older buildings.  No one died but the media loved
it, calling it a Major quake and milking it for all they could.
As earthquakes go, Coalinga was strictly a non-player.
Unfortunately the town was almost on top of the epicenter.
     In 1971 a Major earthquake struck the San Fernando Valley
near the town of Sylmar.  It destroyed a newly constructed
Veterans Administration hospital, damaged another and ruined many
commercial buildings.  Sixty-eight people died and 30,000 living
below an old earthen dam were evacuated.  The Sylmar quake was
one one-thousandth as powerful as the predicted Great Earthquake.
     The Great Earthquake due to strike California will be ten
thousand times as dangerous as the Coalinga non-event; a thousand
times as damaging as the San Fernando quake.  And its epicenter
will be scant miles from the most densely populated region in
Southern California.
     The earthquake will stagger our nation's economy . . . the
lives of all Americans will be touched in some way by the
California Earthquake.  Our only recourse is to prepare for a
rapid, strategic recovery.  But we are simply unprepared.
     The Great Earthquake will virtually isolate the region for
up to two weeks.  Two weeks without water, power or gas.  Two
weeks without the protection of firemen or police.
     This will be the greatest natural disaster to ever strike
our nation and it will go down in the history of amateur radio as
our blackest hour because we are not prepared.
     We aren't prepared for a Great Earthquake in Southern
California simply because an earthquake is not a blizzard. Nor is
it a spring flood. And it's not a tornado. People will die of
exposure and drowning, and there will be flooding and buildings
will be ripped to pieces---but it's going to happen all at once;
all at the same time and all in a matter of minutes.
     Its damage can cover thousands of square miles. We can't
expect help from neighboring towns, they're having their own
earthquake, and hoping we can help them.
     After a Great Earthquake it will take days for relief
efforts to take hold.  We'll be on our own.  And we aren't
prepared for it.
     A comprehensive plan must be designed around the decision
makers, not around the buildings housing them. The communication
plan must be flexible enough to accommodate a scattered command
structure and still function.  This calls for design with a high
degree of modularity and fully portable, self-contained
communications equipment.
     To assume any form of communication---radio or
telephone---will survive a Great Earthquake is dangerous.  Modern
public safety communication uses repeaters, just like we do. A
critical analysis reveals less than 5% of existing repeaters,
amateur or commercial, will withstand a Richter 8+ event.
     Before any repeater in included in the planning for a
catastrophic event it should be hardened, completely self-
contained and be accessible. Few of Southern California's
hundreds of repeaters meet this criteria.
     There are three main roles of communications in modern
Disaster Management:  Disaster Assessment, Command-Control, and
Health & Welfare. Most hams are only familiar with the latter.
     Knowledgeable disaster managers would like to use hams in
the Disaster Assessment role but find few who are young
enough . . . it is a physically demanding job that requires many
skills in addition to the ability to communicate. Given the time
window of the event, training expended on older hams will be
largely wasted.
     Command-Control is a job for a Super Ham. No communicator
who has Bashed his way to an Advanced ticket need apply.  There's
a need for technical expertise, common sense and a cool
head---qualities growing rare in our shrinking ham community. it
practical to train a sixty year old ham for a task which may not
occur for thirty years?
     Ham radio has always borne the brunt of Health & Welfare
messages following a disaster but we aren't prepared for the
volume of traffic a Great Earthquake will produce. Our failure
will contribute to the virtual collapse of the telephone system
across the nation.  After the quake we can expect between 900,000
and 3.2 million pieces of outgoing H&W traffic.  In the first few
days (the nation) will generate between nine and fifteen million
pieces of incoming H&W traffic.  We just aren't prepared for it.
Even the low estimate of outgoing traffic will swamp our
facilities.  We are too slow and too poorly organized.   We're
using the wrong equipment and the wrong procedures.
     We're too old for Damage Assessment, we haven't the skills
for Command-Control and we lack the capacity for Health &
Welfare.  The people depending on us are in for a rude surprise.
     When was the last time you read the regulations?  You and
the government have entered into a contract; the government
grants you various privileges and you in turn agree to help out
with emergency communications; it's the only form of
communications specifically mentioned.
     There's no such thing as a free lunch; Amateur radio is not
a hobby, it's a 'Service' (check the regs).  We're allowed to use
commercially valuable portions of the spectrum because we've made
a contract to provide a needed service during a disaster.
     California has a higher ratio of hams than the national
average.  But numbers alone don't tell the story.  Southern
California attracts a lot of retirees and that includes hams.
The average age of hams in this region is nearly sixty, almost
twice the median age of Southern Californians.  Disasters have a
nasty habit of killing the young and the old.  Chances are, the
typical Southern California ham is more likely to be a casualty
of the Great Quake than an asset for its relief.
     What can we do to prepare?  We can make ourselves younger. I
know it sounds silly but follow me through.  The typical ham
recruits his friends; people he knows.  Over the years the
average age of American hams has climbed and so has the age of
the new licensees.  It's a natural trend but a deadly one for the
future of amateur radio.  The only way to reduce our average age
is to bring in a lot of younger people.  A large number of
younger hams in and of itself will determine the future direction
and usefulness of amateur radio.  For this reason alone many
older hams, while giving lip service to recruiting goals do
little to actively support such programs.  As we get older things
seem to speed by more quickly.  Constant change is the normal
state for the young but often spells trouble for the old.  Many
of our hams retired here with the hope of spending their closing
years in peaceful reflection, not high-tech confusion.
     If we are to weather the storm of a Great Earthquake, we
need hundreds of high speed stations; fully portable stations
capable of being on the air within minutes after the quake.  Each
station should be completely self-contained with a minimum
endurance of ten days.
     Low power (VHF/UHF) causes many hams to shake their heads.
Under traditional schemes they had high power and handhelds and
little in between.  Modern disaster communications doesn't need
high power, it needs high capacity networks; the ability to pump
large volumes of data from many points to a few central points.
VHF-FM with data rates of 300 to 1200 bits per second is ideal
for this task.  Without a widely distributed, high capacity
network the information tap is shut off and decisions made by
default instead of design.
     One final chore for ham radio.  Modern Disaster Management
requires the capture, storage, manipulation, communication and
display of vast quantities of data.  Many relief functions are
highly automated and must be spoken to in the proper format and
syntax to make them respond.
     A large part of disaster preparedness involves learning the
necessary language and procedures to communicate effectively with
diverse agencies.  This complex structure has evolved over many
years but hams are largely ignorant of it.  We, the
"Communicators of Last Resort", have failed to keep up to date in
the one type of communications we've been specifically asked to
perform.
     In the modern world the stakes of disaster management are
very high.  If Southern California is not swiftly returned to
full productive capacity, the economy and possibly even the
defense of our nation will be at risk.
     The final analysis reveals this horrendous responsibility
rests squarely on the shoulders of one man, one key ham.  You.
     Are you a part of the problem or a factor in its solution?
Do you know your role in the local disaster plan?  Is it a good
plan?  Or are you one of those hams who casually ducks his
responsibilities by saying you'll be there if you're needed.
     No 'ifs' about it, old man---you're needed.  But you're
needed now, before the event.  Hams who wander in waving their
ticket are about as welcome as a finger in the eye.  It doesn't
matter is you swat out CW at thirty words a minute, an unlicensed
kid with a VIC-20 can handle 50 words per second and pick his
nose at the same time.
     If you don't know the language, if you don't know the
organization, you just don't know enough to be useful.
     If you're under fifty, you're going to see the big quake.
Your task is to prepare yourself and your family; if you and your
equipment don't survive you can't help anyone else.  Learn your
role in the plan and get your station ready.
     If you're over fifty, your task is more demanding.  You
probably won't live to see the Great Earthquake but your legacy
could mean the survival of amateur radio.  Your task, if you are
willing to accept it, is to see your skills and the essence of
your experience passed safely into younger hands.
     Summing up:  Amateur Radio is facing the most critical test
in its history, a trial imposed by a cataclysmic natural event.
Failure may be the deathblow for ham radio and for thousands of
innocent victims.
     It's ironic.  Hams are always helping someone else; for
almost 75 years we've given of ourselves at home and abroad,
during desperate wars and fragile periods of peace.  If help was
needed, we were there.  Disasters have a way of making brothers
of us all, wiping away questions of politics, race and
nationality.  But if we are unprepared for the Great Earthquake,
history will record that the only group we ever failed to help
was ourselves.
---Robert S. Hoover, KA6HZF
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The preceding are excepts of a paper titled "The California
Earthquake" by Robert S. Hoover, Amateur Radio licensee KA6HZF.
A copy of the article in its entirety is available by sending a
SASE to:
Stanly E. Harter, KH6GBX
Governor's Office of Emergency Services
2800 Meadowview Road
Sacramento, CA    95832

RACESBUL.030    SUBJECT:  BULLETIN 029 ERRATA      Date: Sep. 12, 1988
     To date, the author's references to age was the most
stimulating and controversial.  Guest articles do not necessarily
reflect the position or practices of this office.  Our intent in
running this series was to stimulate discussion, motivate
managers and volunteers, and generate proactive and remedial
actions.
     The following changes are submitted by the author and others
to the State RACES BULLETIN series 029A-029H titled "The
California Earthquake" by Robert S. Hoover, KA6HZF.  We thank the
author and others who make contributions to and share their
interest in the  weekly California State RACES BULLETINS.
     1. Reference the first paragraph (029A), State OES Director
of Public Affairs and Information Tom Mullins says:  "Over the
next 30 years the likelihood of a 7.5 magnitude or larger event
in Southern California is 60 percent or greater; the
probabilities of a magnitude 7.0 or larger earthquake in the San
Francisco Bay Area in the next three decades are estimated to be
50%.  An earthquake is not necessarily inevitable in the next 30
years."
     2. Reference RACESBUL.029D, the second paragraph should
read:
     Knowledgeable disaster managers would like to use hams in
the Disaster Assessment role but find few who are young enough.
It is a physically demanding job that requires many skills in
addition to the ability to communicate. Given the time window of
the event, training expended on older hams will be largely
wasted.  -END-
[A copy of this Bulletin 029, in its entirety, is available to
individuals upon receipt of a SASE (Self Addressed Stamped
Envelope) from this office.  The entire article is available from
the author Robert S. Hoover, 1875 Monte Vista Drive, Vista, CA
92083.]

RACESBUL.031    SUBJECT: STATEWIDE COUNTY RACES SURVEY      Date:
Sept. 19, 1988
     In May, 1988, we completed a survey of all 58 counties in
California to determine the success level of State OES efforts to
provide a coordinated program in keeping with Senator William
Campbell's 1983 joint committee findings and recommendations to
reinstate a program whereby the Amateur Radio resources in
California be organized for use to supplement State and local
government emergency communications.  The term RACES is used in
California to describe Amateur Radio operators enrolled in a
specific local government, in accordance with the California
State Codes governing the registration and use of Disaster
Service Workers, to provide emergency communications via the
Amateur Radio Service.  The survey reflected that positive gains
have been made since the program's inception three years ago in
May 1985.
     Following the lack of a State coordinated program since
1965, the RACES program was reinstated in May 1985.  There were
then 42 counties without and 16 counties with a RACES unit.
Today, there are now 21 counties without and 37 counties with a
RACES program.
     It was beyond the scope of our survey to include city RACES
programs, since that is generally the purview of the counties.
The counties reported, however, a total of 63 city government
RACES in California.

RACESBUL.032    SUBJECT: STATEWIDE COUNTY RACES SURVEY     Date:
Sept. 26, 1988
                           Part 2 of 7
Some key questions were asked in the survey to assess a county's
overall RACES program posture.  Some of them were:
1. Does your county have a RACES Plan?
2. Have you appointed a Radio Officer?
3. Do you receive the weekly RACES Bulletins from your hams?
4. How many exercises for the RACES in the past 12 months?
How many real activations?
5. How would you rate your RACES unit?
6. How many RACES members?
7. What assistance would you like from State OES?  The replies to
this question of the 58 county emergency services agencies fell
into one or more of sixteen categories.  They are: No help needed
or not interested (in RACES, hams or
both); need a briefing for county officials on the RACES; a
briefing for the RACES members or prospects; provide the model
(Santa Luisa County) RACES Plan format; provide a job description
for volunteers; how to appoint a Radio Officer; how to start and
maintain a RACES program (the RACPAC); need assistance from
another state agency; need technical assistance; copy of
government codes related to the RACES; copy of the State RACES
Plan; specific guidelines for ID cards; a SAR manual (from
another OES division); a sample recommended registration form;
requests for equipment; copies of the RACES articles appearing in
the APCO BULLETIN magazine; and requests for packet routing
information to receive the weekly State RACES Bulletins via the
WESTNET.

                           Part 3 of 7
     The survey reflected that there are a total of 4,064 county
government RACES personnel and an unknown additional number of
city government RACES members.
     The survey disclosed 21 California counties without a RACES
program and, coincidentally, 21 new counties that came on line
with the RACES since May 1985.  Of the 21 counties that do not
have any RACES, 10 county governments stated that they either do
not need or want the RACES or ham radio operators.  The other 11
counties affirmed that they do want the RACES and asked State OES
for assistance in gearing up.
     An immediate benefit to us was to determine what counties
may be called upon to provide RACES mutual aid assistance.  This
is very important to OES in another wildfire season.  Thirty-six
of our 58 counties confirmed their willingness to participate in
mutual aid with their Amateurs. Those are the counties that State
OES might call upon if RACES mutual aid resources are needed.
Mutual Aid means personnel and resources that are requested and
sent to a location to support a specific incident.  The incident
may be in an adjoining county or one hundreds of miles away.
Mutual aid requests are typically for a specific type and
quantity of communications, such as two complete packet radio
terminals and four skilled operators to serve at a specific
location until relieved.

RACESBUL.034    SUBJECT:  STATEWIDE COUNTY RACES SURVEY     Date:
Oct. 10, 1988
                           Part 4 of 7
     The survey showed that many county RACES units still do not
have a written RACES plan.  Others have plans that are incomplete
or out of date.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency is again
making available some matching funds for RACES communications
equipment and there are indications it will increase.  The
criteria for OES to recommend a RACES project to FEMA for
Matching Funds is:
     (1) a current RACES plan approved and on file with State
OES.  A RACES Plan is a stand-alone document, separate from the
Multi-Hazard Functional Plan, and follows the "Santa Luisa
County" model format.
     (2) a Radio Officer and management staff assigned;
     (3) all RACES personnel registered as Disaster Service
Workers with that local government's accredited Disaster Council.
     Some counties coordinate or work closely in a mutual aid
context with their city RACES units.  Disturbingly, some county
Radio Officers reported no connection or liaison with city RACES
in their county.  The lack of such coordination and
communications severely detracts from a mutual aid capability.
We urge county Radio Officers in such counties at the earliest
opportunity to call a meeting with all city Radio Officers in
their county to establish coordination to create both a mutual
aid capability and a viable county RACES communication plan.
Your State OES Region RACES Coordinator or Radio Officer will be
pleased to help you and work with you in this regard.

RACESBUL.035    SUBJECT:  STATEWIDE COUNTY RACES SURVEY     Date: Oct. 17,
1988
                           PART 5 OF 7
     Another area for improvement was disclosed in the matter of
Amateurs not delivering the weekly RACES Bulletins to their
emergency services office---the addressee on each Bulletin.  This
indicates a breakdown in the relations between the RACES
personnel and their office.  Do you remember the primary cause
for the premature death of an otherwise worthwhile volunteer
organization?  It is:  "Out of sight is out of mind."  Following
last year's horrendous fire season two counties called us to ask
a particular question about the RACES.  We gave the answer and
then told them that their particular questions had recently been
addressed in the weekly RACES Bulletins.  "What weekly
bulletins?" they asked.  We had no choice but to tell them that
they didn't really have the RACES unit they thought they had.
Both offices are getting their Bulletins regularly now!
     It's up to the Radio Officer to see that one or more of his
personnel recover the weekly Bulletins from a WESTNET mailbox and
deliver them to the Radio Officer and their emergency services
office.  In this manner someone from the local government's RACES
unit is in the emergency services office every week.  Otherwise,
it is "out of sight, out of mind."  Ten counties reported non-
delivery of the weekly Bulletins by their RACES; they ranged from
one of the most densely to very lightly populated counties.

RACESBUL.036    SUBJECT: STATEWIDE COUNTY RACES SURVEY
Date: OCT. 24, 1988
                           Part 6 of 7
     If a county said they had a RACES program and a Radio
Officer, we then interviewed the Radio Officer as well.  Forty-
two of California's 58 counties said they wanted some form of
organizational or administrative assistance from the State Office
of Emergency Services.  The State OES Regions are following up on
these requests.
     Our biggest concern at this time is the 21 counties without
a RACES program.  Their reasons vary:
1.  Some counties simply do not have any Amateurs.  One county
replied "We only had two hams interested and one just passed
away."
2. "We don't need hams.  Our public safety radio systems are
plenty good and will never fail. Also, no hams have approached
us."
3.  "We will talk it over with the hams to see if there is any
interest."
4.  "The club supports us and we register the hams before
assigning them."
5.  "I don't know if we can find anyone qualified to be a Radio Officer and I
don't have time now to go look for one."
6.  "We're trying to get extra staff to setup a RACES program."
7.  "We're working with Region now and trying to get a person to fill the
Radio Officer position."
8.  "We only have two hams in the county but they help us fine."

RACESBUL.037    SUBJECT: STATEWIDE COUNTY RACES SURVEY
Date: Oct. 31, 1988
                           Part 7 of 7
9.  "Been short on staff; bringing new person on board and will
assign task to get RACES going."
10. "Our RACES has a poor attitude so we are writing a plan for
using several ham groups for comm support. So we have no interest
in the RACES."  (Note: Since RACES is a unit of a local
government, the RACES is and can be only as good as the local
government makes it or allows it to be.)
11.  One county refused to return all telephone calls.
12.  "We need some funds to seed activity."
13.  "I'm new on the job. What is RACES?"
14.  "We have political problems with two ham groups. We're going
to meet with both and try to work out something. We haven't
appointed a Radio Officer yet."  The east-west or north-south
county syndrome is common in several county politics.
15. "Wasn't sure what RACES was until you called. We do have
interested hams and would like you (State OES) to come brief us."
16. "We have ARES. Don't need RACES. Hams would quit if we called
them RACES. Things going well. Don't rock our boat." Since it is
unclear that they might indeed meet the definition of RACES in
California, but choose to call it something else, we can not call
upon this county for RACES mutual aid until or unless this is
clarified.
17. "We are going to get RACES going again by the end of the
year."

[We urge any county with questions on this survey or a request
for assistance to contact your State OES Region RACES Coordinator
or Radio Officer.   We are tremendously pleased with the growth,
the can-do spirit, and the hard work of the hundreds of Amateur
Radio operators who have pitched in to make this emergency
communications mission in support of their local governments in
California such a success.      ---KH6GBX]

RACESBUL.038    SUBJECT: 1989 SEARCH & RESCUE TRAINING   Date:
Nov. 7, 1988
State OES Law Enforcement Division 1989 Search and Rescue
Training Program:    (Post Approved)
                                * * * * *
Packet operations note: The various Civil Air Patrol mailboxes
are now downloading the California State RACES Bulletins.  We
welcome the CAP and their support of emergency communications.
                            * * * * *

RACESBUL.039    SUBJECT: CDF&FP GLOSSARY - PT. 1 OF 3      Date:
Nov. 14, 1988
       CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY & FIRE PROTECTION
                       AUBURN RANGER UNIT
               13760 Lincoln Way, Auburn, CA 95603
     The following are terms you are liable to encounter while
handling wildland fire traffic.
     CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY AND FIRE PROTECTION:
Please get the name right. It is no longer just "CDF" nor is it
the "Division of Forestry".  The words "and Fire Protection" were
added last year to more accurately reflect the actual activities
of the Department.  By the same token, it is the U.S. FOREST
SERVICE -- not "Forestry Service".
     INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM (ICS):  The chain of command on any
incident.  The incident commander is referred to as the IC and
will be identified with the name of the fire he is commanding.
Example: "Dog Bar IC". When you are assigned to work a particular
fire, you will identify likewise using the fire name.  Example:
"Dog Bar Base".
     COMMUNICATIONS CENTER:  Located usually at a Headquarters
facility but may be elsewhere in a major event. Also located at
this facility will be the Fire Information Center which will be
manned by Fire Information Officers (FIO). Their function is to
relay information to the news media and the general public via
the telephone.  The communications center will house all of the
Amateur radio operations at the location including phone, packet,
and ATV if utilized. If several fires are burning simultaneously,
there will be multiple radio circuits set up. Headphones are an
absolute must for working in this environment as it becomes very
noisy and confused. The FIO's will be answering telephones,
packet printers will be clacking and people will be talking to
one another. In an extended attack fire, this center will remain
operational 24 hours per day unless other instructions are given.
Identification of stations operating here will be as above.
Example: "Dog Bar Communications".

RACESBUL.040    SUBJECT: CDF&FP GLOSSARY - PART 2 of 3
Date: Nov. 21, 1988
     COMMAND POST:  The command post is usually the location from
which the IC and his staff direct the attack on the fire. It is
usually located near the fire, often offering a view of the fire
or smoke. During the initial attack on a fire, the Command Post
is a very busy place. If you are assigned to a Command Post,
report to the IC on arrival; introduce yourself. Get a feel for
the activity before approaching the IC for information or
direction. The Command Post and Staging Area may be one and the
same.
     STAGING AREA:  The Staging Area is that point to which all
incoming equipment and personnel will report prior to being
dispatched on the fire line. You may also be required to pass
through the Staging Area. This is another very busy location,
especially during the initial stages of a fire. A Staging Area
Manager will be in charge of the operation and you should report
to him immediately on arrival, telling him your assignment; i.e.,
Command Post, Base, etc.
     BASE  (BASE CAMP OR FIRE CAMP):  The Base is located some
distance from the fire zone. When complete, the Base resembles a
small town with food service, bathrooms, showers, sleeping areas,
administrative offices, communication centers, medical
facilities, gasoline station, etc. On a large fire, many hundreds
of individuals will depend on the Base for support. Base can be a
very busy and exciting location. At Base, ham radio will handle a
large volume of logistical traffic as much of the ordering of
supplies and equipment will go out via Amateur Radio.
Additionally, many of the various managers located at Base will
have the need to speak directly to other locations and will often
utilize our ham radio circuits for this activity. As a result,
much time is spent locating the various individuals to come to
our radio location to get on the air. On a major fire, we will
attempt to staff the Base with a motor home, trailer, or the like
as the individuals assigned may have to remain for several days
or more.

RACESBUL.041    SUBJECT: CDF&FP GLOSSARY - PART 3 OF 3      Date: Nov. 28,
1988
     EXTENDED FIRE ATTACK:   An Extended Fire Attack is, as the
name implies, one that will not be quickly extinguished. Extended
attack fires will usually require a large amount of equipment and
personnel. They will often require the creation of Base
facilities and have a large administrative staff ("overhead").
VIP (CDF&FP Volunteers-In-Prevention) hams will most often
operate during extended attack fires.
     HANDCREWS:   A word about the handcrews used on fires by the
CDF&FP is in order. Several types of crews are utilized: members
of the California Conservation Corps, wards of the State under
the California Youth Authority, and professionals such as the
Hobart Hotshots and others. The CYA wards are prisoners from
various CYA camps and facilities. They are always dressed in
orange clothing as opposed to the yellow worn by all other
personnel. To avoid problems, it is best not to engage the wards
in conversation as their supervisors may have given orders not to
talk to anyone. Handcrews are used to do much of the cutting of
fire breaks, downing burned trees, and etc. They are a valuable
resource in controlling the fire and are either very busy or very
tired. Do not get in their way.
     S.O. or SUPERVISOR'S OFFICE:   As utilized in a fire
situation, S.O. can refer to several different things. First, it
can mean the Sheriff's Office of the county in which you are
operating. Additionally, it can mean the headquarters office of
the U.S. Forest Service Supervisor for that National Forest. Make
certain you are clear as to what is meant at the time the term
first comes up.
     FIRE INFORMATION OFFICERS:   Fire Information Officers are
individuals who have completed specialized training courses to
prepare them to act as Public Information Officers or Press
Liaison persons. In the past, many hams have performed this
function in this Ranger Unit but, from now on, that will be
minimized. Our main role is to provide an auxiliary
communications service.
                           *** END ***


RACESBUL.042    SUBJECT: SURPLUS PROPERTY      Date: Dec. 5, 1988
QUESTION:  "How can local RACES units obtain State and Federal
surplus two-way radios?"
ANSWER:  I contacted the State Department of General Services.
They advise the local government to write:
                    Surplus Property
                    General Services Department
                    State of California
                    140 Commerce Circle
                    Sacramento, CA  95815
                    (Telephone [phone])
     The local government's letter should request the screener
"to be on the lookout for ...." and specify here what it is you
want; such as "mobile, portable and fixed two-way FM radio
communications equipment."  The gentleman I spoke to said it is
not likely the screener will have any specific knowledge of two-
way radios and may simply transmit to the requesting agency the
manufacturer's name, make and model.  The requesting agency must
have the expertise to determine whether or not it is desired. The
requesting agency pays the State a handling fee that ranges from
less than 10% to 33% of the acquisition cost. Many government
agencies get their desks and supplies this way.
     State surplus property screeners also tour Federal surplus
warehouses for you.  That is why it is important to file a letter
with the State DGS.
     Surplus property is not available to private individuals.
Any questions should be directed to the DGS address or telephone
number shown above.
     Some State agencies do not turn in surplus radio equipment
to DGS but dispose of it themselves. We cannot speak on their
behalf but some of the big users include Caltrans and the CHP.
In State OES we offer surplus communications equipment, when
available, to people or organizations in the following priority:
(1) State RACES personnel; (2) County and city RACES units; (3)
any Amateur and the CAP; or (4) destroy it.  We have nothing
available now.  When we do, we issue a bulletin statewide on the
WESTNET packet system.
                                   * * * * *

RACESBUL.043    SUBJECT:     Nationwide Distribution        Date:
Dec. 12, 1988
     At the request of numerous state and local emergency
management and civil defense agencies around the country, plus
the American Radio Relay League headquarters, we are transmitting
the weekly State RACES Bulletins nationwide (to RACES @ ALLUS in
the linked national packet radio system).
     The weekly RACES bulletins answer questions, provide
guidance, recommendations, interpretations and information
regarding the utilization of Amateur Radio serving these
agencies.  There is a close working relationship between ARES
(Amateur radio Emergency Service) and the RACES (Radio Amateur
Civil Emergency Service) in California.  In this state, any
volunteer serving the State or a local government must be a
registered disaster service worker.  Those Amateurs who elect to
affiliate with a specific government, for example, become a part
of that government's RACES unit.  Thus, most ARES members are
members of a city, county, or the State RACES unit.
     Most Bulletins are undated in nature and applicable
(directly or through interpretation) anywhere in the U.S.  They
have been requested by several Pacific basin nations because
their use of Amateur Radio in support of emergency communications
is similar to ours.  Several people and agencies have said that
the Bulletins help fill a void created by the disappearance of
national RACES guidance by FEMA many years ago.
     We hope that the weekly California RACES Bulletins will be
helpful to you,
too.
     STANLY E. HARTER, KH6GBX
     Amateur Radio Service Coordinator
     Governor's Office of Emergency Services (CA)
     Vice-Chairman, FCC's State Emergency Communications
Committee
[SYSOPS Note:  Most WESTNET sysops, for example, leave the
current Bulletin in the directory for one week and then move it
into a "W" sub-directory upon receipt of the next Bulletin.
Thank you all for your support and cooperation.
73 and Aloha, Stan/KH6GBX  (W6HIR @ WA6NWE).]

RACESBUL.044    SUBJECT: THANK YOU FOR 1988                 Date:
Dec. 19, 1988
     I want to thank all of the Amateurs in California for the
support you have given this past year.  Without the help of
RACES, ARES, VIP, ARRL, club members and individual hams to the
State and local governments, we would not have had the superior
communications we enjoyed during our heavy fire season.  The
Director and staff of the Governor's Office of Emergency Services
is most appreciative of your dedication, skill and
professionalism.  Again, thanks a lot, Merry Christmas and a
Happy New Year to you all!
FOR THE DIRECTOR: Jon Madzelan, Chief, Telecommunications Division

RACESBUL.045    SUBJECT: MUTUAL AID COMMUNICATIONS - PART 1
Date: Dec. 26, 1988
     The foundation of California's disaster planning is a
statewide system of mutual aid in which each local jurisdiction
relies on its own resources, then calls for assistance from its
neighbors -- city to city, city to county, county to county, and
finally, through one of the OES regional offices, to the state.
A Master Mutual Aid Agreement has been adopted by most cities of
California and by all its 58 counties.  This creates a formal
structure within which each jurisdiction retains control of its
own personnel and facilities but can give and receive help
whenever it is needed.  The state is signatory to this agreement
and provides available resources to assist local jurisdictions in
emergencies.
     The state is divided into six regions, with six regional
offices (Los Angeles, Pleasant Hill, Redding, Sacramento, Fresno,
and Ontario) staffed by the Governor's Office of Emergency
Services ("State OES") to coordinate these activities.  Through
this mutual aid system the Governor's office receives a constant
flow of information from every geographic and organizational area
of the state.                                     (continued)

******CONTINUED IN "ALL1989" STATE RACES BULLETIN FILE *********