Up to Date Southern California Repeater Lists

Courtesy of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Amateur Radio club.

http://rptrlist.w6jpl.ampr.org/Main.htm

The Secret Life of the Radio

In the early 90's, the BBC aired a show called "The Secret Life of Machines", where an eccentric scientist explained how things worked in simple, understandable, terms. The Southgate Amateur Radio Club (Southgate, England) had posted "The Secret Life of the Radio" on YouTube.

Radio explained... It's a good show, in three parts here:

http://www.southgatearc.org/news/september2007/secret_life_of_radio_1.htm

Jonathan Zimmerman
ACS-CERT Liaison

Division III CERT Meeting Report, Friday, September 14, 2007

From your moderator:

CERT Battalions in Division III held a Community Meeting last Friday at Fire Station 88.

Battalion 14 Chief Shanley spoke about the dangers of the Santa Ana winds which historically blow North to South through the hillside canyons in the Santa Monica Mountains this time of year. He's particularly concerned about the hillsides and canyons between Woodman and the San Diego Freeway. He says that if a fire starts on the North side during windy conditions, it could burn from Ventura Boulevard all the way to UCLA in about 4 hours. He says that October is historically the most dangerous month for high winds, and the third week in October is historically the worst week for brush fires.

The hillside roads are narrow, the hillsides crowded, and it will be very difficult for the LAFD to get ahead of, or get a handle on, a fast moving fire. He says that embers will blow from the blaze causing new fires up to 1/2 mile ahead. Evacuation will be difficult if not impossible due to the nature of the roads and the nature of panicked people trying load and leave.

He says if you live in the hills and hear of a fire in your area, don't wait to be evacuated -- get out now. Just leave.

He says if you smell smoke it may not be too late to evacuate, but it probably is. Wind driven fires can move at the pace of a fast walk and unless you have a straight shot to a safe area, you might not make it out. The roads will be clogged with other evacuees and fire equipment.

He says if you see fire, you'll probably have to shelter in place because there probably won't be time to evacuate safely.

He showed us dramatic video of people trying to escape from the Oakland Hills fire in 1991 and it was very easy to see exactly what he meant. Many of the fatalities in the Oakland fire were people who evacuated too late and were trapped and died in their cars. Hysterical people refused to move, the roads were gridlocked, the smoke made it dark as night, and there were flames everywhere.

He says that all CERT volunteers should have their packs organized and ready and be 'leaning forward', ready to volunteer, on City Red Flag Days. Most of the evacuations will probably be done by firefighters and police, but there will be plenty of work for CERT members to do at the Command Posts and in areas not in the fire corridors. He says the Command posts will probably be 88's on Sepulveda, or a fire station on Sunset near UCLA.

Chief Shanley says during a major brush fire, the fire command will be incredibly busy and may not have the time to do a formal CERT call-out. He encourages Division III CERT Battalion Coordinators to be proactive and contact the Disaster Preparedness Unit for possible activation during high danger conditions.

Jonathan Zimmerman
ACS-CERT Liaison