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The ARES® Letter
[https://www.arrl.org/ares]


Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE [ mailto:k1ce@arrl.net ] - November 20, 2024

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In This Issue:
 • ARES® Briefs/Links
 • Hurricane Helene: South Carolina ARES Responds  • Hurricane Milton: Florida’s Sumter County ARES Responds  • Hurricane Milton: Alachua County (Gainesville), Florida, Overrun by Evacuees; ARES Responds
 • Hurricane Milton: Lessons Learned by First Time ARES Responder  • ARES® Resources
 • Support ARES®: Join ARRL

ARES® Briefs, Links

The ARRL National Traffic System is an integral part of the League’s public service program and has seen a resurgence in activity over the past couple of years. Much of the progress has been the result of the work of a panel of senior experts
comprising a select committee that is overseeing and promoting an overhaul of the network. Subscribe [ http://www.arrl.org/opt-in-out?utm_source=Informz&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=ARRL ] to The NTS Letter, published monthly, free of charge to ARRL
members. The editor is Eastern Massachusetts, Western Massachusetts, and Rhode Island Section Traffic Manager Marcia Forde, KW1U [ mailto:ntsletter@arrl.org ] .

[https://cometantenna.com/amateur-radio/mobile-antennas/ma-dual-band/]


Hurricane Helene: South Carolina ARES Responds

South Carolina ARES [ https://ares-sc.org/ ] was officially activated to support emergency communications in response to Hurricane Helene, which impacted the upstate regions. ARES volunteers worked closely with local emergency management agencies and
SKYWARN networks to provide critical communication services. With Hurricane Helene threatening to bring heavy rainfall, high winds, and potential flooding, ARES members were placed on high alert, relaying important weather updates and damage reports to
the National Weather Service (NWS) and other emergency response agencies. Their efforts ensured that real-time information was available to guide response and recovery efforts, enhancing public safety.
 
As part of this activation, amateur radio operators were encouraged to monitor local nets for updates and to stand by for further instructions. All volunteers were urged to be prepared for extended activation periods and to ensure the readiness of their
equipment. The activation highlighted the vital role that ARES volunteers play in disaster response and recovery during major weather events like Hurricane Helene.
 
ARRL South Carolina Assistant Section Manager and SKYWARN Program Manager Billy L. Irwin, K9OH, said “Many of our dedicated volunteers worked tirelessly, providing critical support ranging from radio operations at county EOCs to offering health and
welfare communications for families, friends, and neighbors,” adding, “this storm tested us in ways many of us have never experienced before.” Irwin thanked his team members. “I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to each of you for
continuing to serve your communities in any capacity you can.”
 
The South Carolina Healthcare Emergency Amateur Radio Team (SCHEART) facilitated county-to-state communications and monitored reports from affected areas. The SCHEART system is comprised of networks of linked amateur radio repeaters strategically located
throughout the state. These repeaters provide an auxiliary communication path for amateur radio operators to support hospitals, county emergency management officials and state agencies during emergencies. Trained operators assist agencies in moving
essential messages when commercial communications systems fail, or state systems become degraded.
 
ARES members were encouraged to track and report on the following: Gas station status: are stations open, do they have fuel, and can they process debit/credit card transactions? Power restoration: are critical infrastructure facilities (e.g., hospitals,
emergency services) restored? Status of traffic control on major highways was tasked. Road closures: the task was to report major highways, bridges, and other key routes that are closed. Welfare checks: ARES members were tasked with contacting net
control stations to determine if they were accepting related information and how to proceed.

Emergency Coordinator Carl Juvrud, KP2L, thanked his ARES team members Dave Kjellquist, WB5NHL, Assistant EC; Mike Steff, KO4FFB; Jim Harris, KG4ZNN, and Chris Webb, WB4EML: “They answered the call and worked a long 18-hour shift at the EOC while
Hurricane Helene roared over us.”

ARES® Amateur Radio and Public Service
[https://tinyurl.com/2p8d5br2]


Hurricane Milton: Florida’s Sumter County ARES Responds

Last month’s Hurricane Milton was an extremely destructive tropical cyclone, which became the second-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded over the Gulf of Mexico. Milton made landfall on the west coast of Florida less than two weeks after
Hurricane Helene devastated the state's Big Bend region.
 
The horrific effects of this storm were seen everywhere in Sumter County [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumter_County,_Florida ] . Many roads were impassable because of flooding, downed power lines, and fallen trees. Residents suffered costly property
damage, many of whom may never totally recover. Members of Sumter County ARES (SCARES) stood ready to serve their communities. SCARES Emergency Coordinator Mark Newby, KX4LEO, announced Alert Level 3, “Monitoring,” on Tuesday, October 8th.
SCARES members maintained contact with EC Newby for updates and assignments.  
Newby kept SCARES members and the local amateur radio community informed through email, announcements on the local repeater, and through posts on the Sumter County ARES [ https://www.sumterares.org/ ] website. A SCARES member and Sumter County SKYWARN
Coordinator ignored sleep to keep us informed about storm conditions throughout the event. Amateur radio operators who are registered volunteers with Sumter County Emergency Management also activated, staffing two local shelters and the radio room in the
EOC. These volunteers in the radio room provided us with continual updates about conditions and response efforts in Sumter County. They maintained communications between the local EOC and state EOC, as well as communications with their volunteers in
shelters and deployed ARES personnel.
 
SCARES members responded to requests from members of the local amateur radio community to assist them in storm preparation. Our own Planning Section Chief, Operations Section Chief, and Emergency Coordinator took turns monitoring the local repeater to
respond to information requests and to relay storm-related information to the EOC and others. The Sumter County ARES Incident Commander (AIC) announced Alert Level 2--Activation and Deployment--at 4:00 AM on Wednesday, October 9th. At the request of
Sumter County Emergency Management, SCARES members responded in the field to provide communication between the EOC and National Guard teams who had also been deployed for rescue and damage assessments. Sumter County ARES facilitated the delivery of
formal health and welfare traffic between local storm-affected individuals and loved ones.
 

From this real-life incident we learned the importance of pre-planning, training and exercises. We learned what we did well, and identified areas we need to improve upon. On behalf of the corporate officers and command staff of Sumter County ARES, I

want to thank these members who volunteered their time, energy and equipment to respond to Hurricane Milton and the needs of our county: Ron Fournier, N8BKB; Verne Betlach, K4VEB; Jeff Taffuri, KO4NCC; Gene King, KI4LEH; Spike McKenzie, N4EBF; Hank
DuPont, KQ4DAF; Greg Madore, K1MGR; Gil Chapin, WB2UTI, and Gabriel Leon, KG4LEO. -- Mark Newby, KX4LEO, Emergency Coordinator, QST NFL, November 2024

Hurricane Milton: Alachua County (Gainesville), Florida, Overrun by Evacuees; ARES Responds

As Hurricane Milton upended the lives of many across the Florida peninsula, in the northern portion of the state, the Gainesville area experienced an influx of evacuees up the I-75 evacuation corridor with no available hotel rooms and dwindling gasoline.
They flocked to area shelters, which reached a combined total of 621 overnighters. The County had to open a 4th shelter.
 
Eric Pleace, KO4ZSD, rose to the occasion and staffed the sudden opening. The area’s power losses were less severe, and all of our repeaters survived. As part of our training/updating during Milton, we tested Jon Simond's, KC4NWK, UHF repeater and
found it had astonishing coverage. We're now up to four great potential VHF/UHF repeaters we can utilize. Read the county ARES group’s draft After Action/Improvement Plan [ https://www.nf4rc.club/hurricane-milton-draft-aarip/ ] , which will be
discussed at the active group’s November meeting. Alachua County administrators have invested well over $100,000 in equipment and infrastructure for our group of ARES volunteers, making it possible for the county to get a return on its investment
due to generous federal matching funds for local county disaster efforts. – Gordon Gibby, KX4Z, QST NFL, November 2024

Hurricane Milton: Lessons Learned by First-Time ARES Responder

By Gary Konecky, KQ4STK
 
Hurricane Milton was the situation for my first ARES deployment. It was educational. I learned, first of all, that “disasters are local.” It does not matter what is happening in the next county over: where you are is what you will have to deal
with. Secondly, the response by the state was a textbook example of how to do things right: hurricane preparedness and response started nearly a week before the arrival of the storm. Evacuation orders were given days before the onset of hurricane
conditions. Recovery resources were mobilized days before landfall.
 
I live in central Florida, which was hard hit by Milton. In mere days, Duke Energy had restored power here. Public works cleared roads of fallen trees and other debris in mere hours in contrast with New Jersey’s efforts after Hurricane Sandy, when
the same task took the better part of a week.
 
That said, no prep nor response is flawless. For at least a week before Milton, meteorologists and hurricane forecasters were predicting a severe hurricane. People spent days stocking up on food and filling their cars with gasoline. The result was that
even before Hurricane Milton made landfall, gas stations were out of gas. This situation continued for several days after the passage of the hurricane. Lesson learned: if you live in an area facing an impending disaster, do not let your vehicle fall
below half a tank.
 
My plan was to shelter in place. I live in a solid building on relatively high ground. I procured an ample supply of items needed: a solar generator, flashlights, candles, battery-powered fans with solar panels, camp stove, camp stove fuel, canned goods,
and water. I charged my batteries for my radios, testing them on local nets.

Deployment

The night before landfall, I was asked to deploy with ARES, which works with the county's EOC – it runs a top-notch operation and is well equipped and staffed. It is responsible for administering the disaster response plan. I learned that teamwork
and effective communication with others are critically important.
 
I was deployed to a special needs shelter that cared for evacuees with serious medical issues. The County Department of Health (DOH) deployed a sizable, excellent professional staff to the shelter. Their care was exemplary. The shelter was in a school.
School cafeteria workers fed residents. The custodial staff kept the shelter clean. If a shelter resident had a dietary restriction, however, he/she needed to bring their own food. For sleeping accommodations, the shelter staff furnished cots; if you
wanted a sleeping pad, sheets, pillows, or blankets, you had to bring your own. Under federal law, schools are gun free zones. Therefore, I was glad to see that the sheriff's department officers were deployed to this shelter for law enforcement.
 
I was not going to leave my beloved dog at home, and I took her along to the shelter. She stayed in my car while I set up the radio station. When I took her out of the car, I had to deal with Animal Control, which treated us poorly. Even when the shelter
manager was willing to work with me about this, Animal Control refused.
 
There were multiple government agencies (school, health department, sheriff's department, EOC, animal control) plus ARES personnel all involved at the shelter. This is where the weak spot is: These agencies had other responsibilities too, not just
disaster relief to cope with. So, multi-agency coordination is crucial, but was lacking at this shelter. The shelter may or may not be under the jurisdiction of the EOC, but is effectively staffed by DOH, school personnel and others. DOH's disaster
response was flawless, but was not coordinated well with the EOC. The EOC and ARES thought I was to report to the shelter manager, an employee of the school district. DOH thought their field manager was the shelter manager. I got caught in the middle. It
took an hour of phone calls from me to ARES coordinators, and from ARES to the powers that be to iron this problem out.
 
The school district administrators had not allowed a shelter inspection for a couple of years and nothing pointed out in the last inspection had been addressed. I had arrived at the shelter with the EOC-supplied radio (my thanks to the county for
supplying ARES with radios), a rollup antenna, lots of coax, and two toolboxes filled with miscellaneous tools and supplies. I had everything I needed but the one thing that an earlier shelter inspection would have told me I needed was several feet of
PVC pipe. A field inspection would have told me that the building is basically nothing but metal, and hence I would need a PVC pipe so that I could attach my antenna to a fence outside, away from the building, and thereby get the antenna to work.
Fortunately, when I was deployed, Tony McGhee, KT4WM, who had been deployed at this school previously, had been assigned as my person to call in case of issues. Tony came to the rescue, bringing PVC pipe and more supplies. The lesson is, when possible,
ARES volunteers should be deployed in pairs. If this is not possible, each person deployed should have a nearby back-up person assigned to them to assist with equipment, supplies, and experience to help out if necessary.
 
As the schools do not let us make needed site inspections, I think it would be a good idea if at the end of a deployment, ARES volunteers prepared a brief document so that the next ARES volunteer would have a better idea of what they may be getting into.
The following would be an example for the school where I was deployed:
 
“Off the cafeteria/multi-purpose room is a storage room used by cafeteria workers to store disposable items such as paper cups, plates, trays, etc. The radio should be set up in that storage room. The feedline should be run through the double-doors
to the right of that room. Outside those doors is a courtyard with a chain-link fence. A non-conductive pole (PVC pipe or a 2”x4”) can be attached to the fence and an antenna mounted on the pole. The doors tend to pinch coax, and the doors also
have sharp edges. Therefore, something needs to be wrapped around the feedline to protect it from being crimped, and to protect it from being cut.”
 
Additionally, the school has a back-up generator. Do not assume it will work and even if it works, it may not supply power to the part of the school where your station is. Therefore, plan accordingly. That said, there is a limitation to this as people in
the school could move things, resulting in this information being out of date. Something is often better than nothing, I suppose.
 
The next big lesson, and this is a lesson for everybody, not just ARES volunteers: Disasters happen in places that you don't think they would happen. Hurricane Helene destroyed a part of the country that is not prone to hurricane destruction. The result
was unimaginable devastation, a very slow government response, and no significant aid for the devastated remote areas, especially in the early days of the disaster. It was citizens, not the government, who provided the first significant aid and comfort
to the victims in that area. I am proud of the ham radio operators who stepped into this breach and did all they could to help.
 
Where I live, I have high praise for the government response. If you are going to get hit by a hurricane, the best place to be is in Florida. The response in Florida to Milton was textbook perfect (except for the aforementioned lack of coordination
between agencies at the local level). That said, however, the lesson I have learned is that you are largely on your own in a disaster, post-onset. Ham radio is the only communication that can be counted on in an emergency. Cell phones fail. The internet
goes down.
 
If a hurricane doesn't get you, an earthquake might. If an earthquake doesn't get you, a flood might. If the flood doesn't get you, a fire might, and so on. Therefore, the lesson that Milton taught me was that you, and only you, can be counted on in a
disaster. Help may be delayed, maybe by hours, maybe by days, maybe by weeks. I say this because even before Milton made landfall, the winds were so powerful that ambulance service had to be suspended. Hours after Milton made landfall, the calls for
assistance came in hard and fast: Person after person, calling because a tree fell on their house, or their house was flooding. Those calls went unanswered because the roads were impassable due to flooding or debris. That is why I say you need to work on
the assumption that you will be on your own and no help is coming.

The Go-Bag

If you are deployed, you are going to your assignment and you are not leaving your assigned location for the duration. Therefore, not only do you need your properly stocked go-bag, you need to secure your property. You also need to safeguard important
legal documents, as your home could be destroyed. Also, secure your antennas.  
The little things, some seemingly of no consequence, matter. When I arrived at the shelter, the parking lot was nearly full. In addition, emergency services vehicles were parked in a no parking zone. As I had equipment to unload, I asked the shelter
manager where I should park and I was told to park with the emergency service vehicles that were parked in the no parking zone. The problem is that if people see a civilian vehicle parked there, they may think they can park there, and that would have
caused a problem at this shelter. Fortunately, a friend had given me ARES logo magnetic placards that I stuck on my car. I also wore an ARES shirt that had the bold, large words “AMATEUR RADIO EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS.”
 
My thanks to Doug Lynch, W4DBL, for checking on everyone in ARES for needs and well-being checks. Not only are we responsible to those we are helping, but we are also responsible for our fellow team members. Thanks also to Jim Jaeger, KO4KUS, for asking
me to deploy, and troubleshooting any issues.

Conclusion

I am a new ham and survived my first ARES deployment. Having had a very positive experience, I will be volunteering again. You don't have to be a veteran, experienced ham to help when disaster strikes. Therefore, I encourage everyone (experienced hams
and new hams alike) to get involved with ARES.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Communication and coordination (including a clear chain of command) among all the agencies involved in a disaster is crucial.
 • Try to get as much information about where you are going as possible. If possible, site inspections should be done before disaster strikes.
 • Have a go-bag. Include in your go-bag things you want, as well as what you need, as the shelter may not have them.
 • If you have a pet, be prepared to deal with animal control.  • ARES volunteers should bring things that they don't think they will need (e.g., PVC pipe).
 • Secure your property before you deploy or evacuate.  • Seemingly inconsequential things (e.g., car magnetic signage and t-shirts) matter.

ARES® Resources

• Download the ARES Manual [PDF] [ http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Public Service/ARES/ARESmanual2015.pdf ]
 • ARES Field Resources Manual [PDF] [ http://www.arrl.org/files/file/ARES_FR_Manual.pdf?utm_source=Informz&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=ARRL ]
 • ARES Standardized Training Plan Task Book [Fillable PDF] [ https://arrl.informz.net/arrl/data/images/ARES Letter/ARES Taskbook July 2024.pdf ]
 • ARES Standardized Training Plan Task Book [Word] [ https://arrl.informz.net/arrl/data/images/ARES Letter/ARES Taskbook July 2024.doc ]
 • ARES Plan [ https://arrl.informz.net/arrl/data/images/ARES Letter/ARES PLAN 24(2).pdf ]
 • ARES Group Registration [ http://www.arrl.org/ares-group-id-request-form?utm_source=Informz&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=ARRL ]
 • Emergency Communications Training [ http://www.arrl.org/emergency-communications-training?utm_source=Informz&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=ARRL ]

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES) consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment with their local ARES leadership, for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes. Every
licensed amateur, regardless of membership in ARRL or any other local or national organization is eligible to apply for membership in ARES. Training may be required or desired to participate fully in ARES. Please inquire at the local level for specific
information. Because ARES is an amateur radio program, only licensed radio amateurs are eligible for membership. The possession of emergency-powered equipment is desirable, but is not a requirement for membership.
 
How to Get Involved in ARES: Fill out the ARES Registration form [ http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Public Service/fsd98.pdf ] and submit it to your local Emergency Coordinator.

Support ARES®: Join ARRL

ARES® is a program of ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® [ https://www.arrl.org/?utm_source=Informz&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=ARRL ] . No other organization works harder than ARRL to promote and protect amateur radio! ARRL members
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, ARRL Field Day, and the all-volunteer ARRL Field Organization.
 
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