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![Previous (earlier) Story](/images/sty-down.gif ""It Seems to Us . . .WRC-03""){kind=small} Previous: "It Seems to Us . . .WRC-03" |  Next: ARRL In Action: What Have We Been Up To Lately? |
NEWINGTON, CT, Aug 1, 2003--With temperatures in Montana exceeding 100 degrees this week, Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) teams have been busy as forest fires continue to plague parts of Big Sky country. Montana Section Manager Doug Dunn, K7YD, says many sections of the state are either on fire or on guard.
"Things are heating up here quickly," Dunn said. "Montana has several fires that are in some level of control, but our recent moisture readings show that we are much drier than even our '88 burn season, where so much of Yellowstone was destroyed. So, the entire area is a tinderbox." Weather and fire watchers have been on the lookout for so-called "dry lightning"--thunderstorms in which the rain evaporates before reaching the ground--which can ignite tinder-dry forests.
"The fires in the Glacier Park area are extremely dangerous and active," Dunn said. Most ARES members were staffing field sites in support of the Red Cross and the local emergency operating center. The Flathead Valley group in the Kalispell area of northwestern Montana has been among those responding. Other ARES groups in Great Falls and Missoula remain on standby to assist if needed.
"There will be an HF station on the air August 1 if the weather cooperates and winds stay down," Dunn said this week. "At least 100 homes in the West Glacier area have been evacuated, with more planned." Dunn says firefighting efforts are aimed at working backfires and "burnouts"--attempting to remove fuel from the fire's path. He reports "a few active fires" in the Hamilton area, with several ARES members serving as US Forest Service radio operators and technicians. Sufficient staffing remains a concern, however.
Dunn says hams in Montana have been using 75 meters (3830 kHz) for primary emergency nets and have several "guard stations" listening full time should anything start up. "For now, we are at least stable and hopeful," Dunn said. "Forecasts show declining temperatures over next couple weeks, but little moisture."
In mid-July, ARES members rallied in response to the so-called Jimtown Fire some 10 miles northeast of Helena in the Helena National Forest. Hams were dispatched to the county emergency operation center, Red Cross Headquarters and the Lakeside Volunteer Fire Department. ARES Emergency Coordinator Robert Solomon, K7HLN, served as net control, and five amateurs volunteered for duty while another eight remained on standby.
Hams were deployed to assist at a Red Cross shelter to help handle communications, but, despite evacuations, no one checked into the shelter. Solomon reports hams maintained contact with the Salvation Army as well. More than 40 piece of traffic were handled via VHF repeater.
The group stood down after a decision was made to turn the fire over to a US Forest Service team. Volunteers were from the Lewis and Clark County ARES and the Capital City Amateur Radio Club.
Dunn said forecasts show declining temperatures over the coming weeks. He says winter storms may eventual cool things off by providing the necessary forest fire "termination dust," as they did in the 1988 fire outbreak.
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