For the latest on ARES involvement in the California fires go to

http://www.arrl.org/news/ares-races-volunteers-activate-for-california-wildfires

Origin of Alert: Blairmore, Alberta

Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette was taken from her home in Blairmore, Alberta  at about 3:30 this morning, by what investigators say was an “unknown person.

UPDATED  Hailey found deceased.

http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/ab/news-nouvelles/2015/150915-blairmore-amber-4-eng.htm?WT.mc_id=cc69fe3b7ef682c7773e6d27e9efaad8

”Description of Missing Child:

• 2-year-old Caucasian girl
• Small build
• Light brown, straight hair with bangs
• Brown eyes

Vehicle Description:

The suspect vehicle, which left the scene in a rush, is

A thank you to all the operators involved in the activation of  ham radio voice and digital equipment in  6 Emergency Operation Centres, one fire hall and one reception centre during tonights communication test for mid Vancouver Island. In addition the radio room at Emergency Management British Columbia  in Victoria was activated. A very successful exercise and great work by all involved.

The annual earthquake exercise SHAKEOUT will be held on October 15th 2015.  This is a great time for ARES units around the Province to use the local media and promote both safety and the role amateur radio plays in a disaster.  If your group is planning to participate please ensure you register at the site below

http://www.shakeoutbc.ca/register/

http://www.shakeoutbc.ca/index.html

Don’t start the fall with aN auto accident or an injured child.  REMEMBER school zone speeds are in effect tomorrow SEPT 8th 2015.  The kids will be excited and school hours may be different for the first day.   SCHOOL ZONE SPEEDS IN EFFECT  8 AM to 5 PM in BC

The cutting of a fibre optic cable in Northern California severed emergency and other communications. This is not the first time this has happened in this area. The local Sheriffs office requested ARES unit attend the local hospital and fire stations as backup. Fortunately they were not needed.  The police investigation continues.

http://www.advocate-news.com/general-news/20150904/major-internet-outage-strikes-again

Emergency Management British Columbia has been transferred to the Ministry of Transportation and Infastructure.  This change could be positive news in that  EMBC will now have a higher profile in Government.  The press release is noted below and you may have to scroll down to see the entire list of changes

https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2015PREM0054-001211

Emergency Management British Columbia has an earthquake response plan. If you think last weekends storm was a “problem” and it didn’t convince you to have a plan and an emergency kit maybe the story below will make you rethink. Please note at the bottom of the article is a link to the official government response plan

http://bc.ctvnews.ca/response-plan-estimates-vancouver-earthquake-could-kill-10-000-1.2545767

For more information on this event go to

http://wp.rac.ca/welcome/simulated-emergency-test/

The loss of the fire fighters in the Stickpin wildfire was indeed tragic and no value can be put on those loses. Those fire fighters that were injured are still on the mend. I wish them  the very best.

The attachment  below will give some information on the largest wildfire in the history of Washington state. The loss of the repeaters of the Lake Chelan Amateur Radio Club will no doubt have an impact for some time too

http://cnews.canoe.com/CNEWS/World/2015/09/01/22547367.html#.VeZhj8AbMyk