NØLCR
Lake County RACES/ARES
Lake County Radio Amateurs, Two Harbors MN
About Lake County RACES/ARES...
First off... if you are not familiar with us, you may be asking...
The Lake County RACES/ARES group was formed on April 8, 2009. So far we have been activated for the following incidents:
- June 20, 2012: North Shore of Lake Superior Flooding and 911 communications outage... Once again mother nature throws all she has against the North Shore. Communications for 911/Cell Phone/Long Distance/Internet were severed at about 0100. We activated at about 0630 and assisted with communications in Lake County and Cook County. Thank you to Douglas County (WA9KLM), St. Louis County (N0EOC) and Arrowhead Skywarn Response Team (K0NWS) for their assistance. We also reported road conditions for portions of Highway 61. We deactivated about 1520 after all communications had been restored to the North Shore.
- May 17, 2012: Highway 1 Fire. Though not activated into the field, we were on alert standby status. The fire was very close to Ely MN with the possibility of evacuations in Ely and Fall Lake areas.
- September 13, 2011: Pagami Creek Fire. We assisted at ICP, EOC, evac checkpoints and evac locations.
- November 14,2010: Lost deer hunter in a blizzard. After spending a long night in the wilderness, the deer hunter walked out of the woods just as we arrived! A good ending.
- January 26, 2010: Fiber Cable severed in Duluth. Loss of long distance, 911 and internet in Lake and Cook Counties. We covered from the Two Harbors Law Enforcement Center EOC.
One of our biggest strong points is we work as a team! We all have specific areas of knowledge, but are not shy about sharing that knowledge or to share the workload. Some members also volunteer in other county RACES and ARES groups in the area. Though we do have equipment supplied by Lake County and via grants, we also use our own personal equipment to fill in the gaps.
We meet at 1800 on the second Wednesday of every month at various locations in Two Harbors. Membership in Lake County RACES/ARES is by invitation only. We have a formal application and review process that will be followed. If you are not a member, you must be invited by one of the members to participate in a meeting. We do have mandatory basic training requirements. Everyone in the group is an active participant. No one in the group is there just for the notoriety.
We also maintain a bi-weekly net. Look for us on the LSAC 1 system on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays at 1900. If you have proper authorization, connect and check-in via the KCØMKS-R EchoLink node.
At our disposal:
From left to right: A portable tower, Arrowhead Mobile Command Vehicle (AMCV) and Mobile Command Trailer (MCT).
The equipment was deployed at a Canadian National RR mock fuel spill exercise in Two Harbors MN on September 14, 2010. Photo by BJ KDØHHW.
- Arrowhead Mobile Command Vehicle (AMCV): The AMCV is an PSN and Amateur Radio outfitted RV bought by an 11 county consortium in the northeast Minnesota Arrowhead Region. The AMCV is housed and maintained by our group in Two Harbors (Lake County) Minnesota. The AMCV is available for rent by other counties and agencies. Please contact BJ Kohlstedt (Lake County Emergency Manager) for details. Previously a group in Pine County and Kanabec County did and outstanding job of outfitting and maintaining the AMCV.
- The Mobile Command Trailer (MCT): The MCT is also outfitted with PSN and Amateur Radio equipment. But is meant more so for Amateur Radio use. We have 2m/75cm voice, packet, APRS and a 75cm repeater capability. We also have an HF station (6m - 160m) used for phone, CW, WinLink/WINMOR and numerous other digital modes. We use the trailer not only for emergencies, but also in support of local events and races. Some races we are involed in are Grandma's Marathon, Northshore Inline Marathon and WolfTrack Classic Dog Sled Race.
- 60' portable tower: The tower also has a 5kw generator associated with it. The trailer as well is used for emergencies and in support of local events and races.
Who is Lake County RACES/ARES?
Most of the group at a Rescue Squad training execise in Silver Bay MN on July 21, 2011 using the AMCV as a backdrop. Photo by BJ KDØHHW.
Back row, left to right: Peter KCØKRI, Dave WØNWO, Doug AAØAW, Gary KDØCVO, Deb KCØUKC and Jim KDØHHX
Front row (kneeling), left to right: Bill KCØZZL, Jeff KCØMKS, BJ KDØHHW and Ray KEØZN
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Members of NØLCR Lake County RACES/ARES:
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NØLCR Calendar of events...
ARGH!... [Autonomous Report Generator of Heuristic's]
[Any changes, errors, omissions on this web site need to be reported to Jeff KCØMKS]
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