The emergency radio team in the Central Orkanagen has had a busy spring and will have a busy fall. The spring activities included
the installation of D-Star in their emergency operations centre, as well as Unity 2012. Unity 2012 was a table top exercise held at the University of British Columbia- Central Okanagen. There are more plans for exercises in the fall. For a look at a very interesting and informative website go to
All posts by va7mpg
Mike Andrews has a new job
Mike Andrews,VE7MPA, the person responsible for the amateur radio portfolio at Emergency Management British Columbia, will be moving to a new post with the North Shore Emergency Management Office effective August 20th 2012.. Mike has held the EMBC position for the last eight years.
Thank you Mike for your support and the best of luck in your new position.
46TH ANNUAL BATH TUB RACE IN NANAIMO BC
On Sunday Juy 22nd members of the Nanaimo Amateur Radio Association and the Coast Emergency Communications Association combined to provide race and emergency communication for the annual bath tub race. The race course covers 36 miles, had over 30 entrants and lasted just over one hour. Weather conditions went from sunny and mild to windy with rain and a thunderstorm.
Amateurs were posted at the start and finish lines as well as various locations along the course. In addition amateurs manned a second net control station on Gabriola Island. This second net control station allowed radio coverage of the complete course. Information as to tub location and status, escort vessel location and general course conditions was provided. In addition frequencies remained available for emergency traffic.
Nanaimo Amateur Radio Association also hosted a special event station VE7TUB.
Photo’s of the event:
The flagship of the bath tub fleet. Reportedly the worlds largest bath tub !
Two of the competitors as they head into the first check point
Entrance Island light station. One of the check points where an amateur station was set up. Members were flown by chopper out to the station.
A check point on Gabriola Island handled VHF Marine, vhf and uhf traffic in addition to spotting duties.
Special Event station VE7TUB has been active for many years on bath tub weekend.
A busy weekend for amateurs, but well worth all the effort put forth.
MONTHLY MEETING
The next monthly CECA meeting will be held on Thursday August 23rd 2012. There will be no meeting in July.
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BATH TUB RACE SPECIAL EVENT STATION
VE7TUB will again be operating as a special event station during this years bath tub weekend in Nanaimo. This station is operated by the Nanaimo Amateur Radio Association. The station will be avtive on 14.265 +- from 0900 PDT Saturday July 21 until 1500 PDT Sunday July 22, 2012. For more information go to http://qrz.com/ and query VE7TUB
In addition to operating this special event station members of the Nanaimo Amateur Radio Association and the Coast Emergency Communications Association provide safety and emergency communications during the race. Members are posted at various location ( light houses,on shore and various vessels) in order to ensure timely and accurate information is available to race control.
All in all a fun weekend.
Activation in BC Interior
Emergency Management British Columbia central region’s Provincial Regional Emergency Operations Center (PREOC) amateur radio station was activated from 08:00 Hrs. until 17:00 Hrs. On June 26,27,28, and 29. Emergency Management BC (EMBC) asked Provincial Emergency Communications Service (PERCS) volunteers to man the station encase of a loss of communications from the Shuswap Lake area and to monitor for any information reported on amateur frequencies re the flash floods in the Sicamous area, generally high water, and high stream flows in the region.
Other than a power outage at the PREOC, which the UPS and back up generator took care of flawlessly and a short visit from our premier and two local MLAs the activation was rather uneventful.
The following PRECS volunteers participated in the activation. VE7s EFL, EHE, TGV, RY, WWW and VA7s AIR and SPA.
Some Important Safety Information from BC Hydro
BC Hydro has an interesting page on what to do in various emergencies. It won’t take long to read and has many good tips. This information could be valuable to ARES members as they assist in times of crisis.
The Waters Are Rising
Now is a busy time of the year for some. The BC River Forecast Centre continues to issue high stream, high flow and flood warnings. This is the start of the run off season. Some radio rooms have been activated. There have already been evacuations and flooding in some areas while sandbagging continues in other portions of the Province. With high snow packs this concern will not end soon.
It might be a good time to review your family emergency plan. Have you checked your grab and go kit lately? Be prepared, and have a plan. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
CECA’S APRIL MONTHLY MEETING
The CECA monthly meeting will be held April 26th,2012 at 1900 hrs
atThe Nanaimo EOC #1 Firehall on Fitzwilliam Street. Due to the
location this meeting is not open to the public.
Emergency Management British Columbia says Thank You
EMBC has gone out of its way to thank those involved with the British Columbia Public Service Lifeline.Volunteers. These are the folks who volunteer their time and efforts to make British Columbia a better place to live. Thank you EMBC.