TWIAR News Feed

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WX4NHC to Be on the Air for SKYWARN Recognition Day

Posted: 02 Dec 2016 12:10 AM PST
http://ift.tt/2gKomy0

WX4NHC at the National Hurricane Center in Miami will participate in
SKYWARN Recognition Day (SRD) on Saturday, December 3. The station will be
active from 1400 until 2300 UTC. SKYWARN Recognition Day is a day-long
event.

“This will be our 18th year of participation in the SRD and our 35th year
of public service at NHC,� said the Center’s Assistant Amateur Radio
Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R. The purpose of SRD is to test Amateur Radio
station operations and equipment among National Weather Service (NWS)
offices across the US.

“This event is excellent practice for ham radio operators as well as NWS
staff to become familiar with the unique communications skills available
during times of severe weather,� Ripoll said. “It is also a fun event.�

WX4NHC will also perform operator training and will be making SRD contacts
on various bands and modes, exchanging signal reports and basic weather
data between NWS offices and participating stations.

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Tennessee ARES on Standby in Wildfire Emergency, Local Amateur Radio
Volunteers Assisting

Posted: 02 Dec 2016 12:10 AM PST
http://ift.tt/2g396c9

Tennessee Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) remains on standby if
needed to assist in the response to more than a dozen wildfires blazing in
East Tennessee. Radio amateurs in individual communities have been
volunteering to support the fire response, however. The fires are
threatening the resort communities of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Force, and
thousands already have evacuated. Spurred on by high winds and tinder-dry
conditions, a wildfire that started on the Chimney Top Mountain in Great
Smoky Mountains National Park swept into communities outside the park on
Monday. Heavy wind gusts, some exceeding 70 MPH, also carried blazing
embers aloft, and these started new fires at some distance to the initial
fire. Power lines also were downed, sometimes causing additional fires to
erupt.

Tennessee Section Manager Keith Miller, N9DGK, and Assistant Section
Emergency Coordinator Bill Farnham, KI4FZT, told ARRL that Tennessee ARES
is on standby, and all Amateur Radio response is being handled locally in
Sevier, Jefferson, and Knox counties, with no need for outside assistance
at this point.

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Amateur Radio Volunteers Providing Shelter Communication Support in
Tennessee

Posted: 02 Dec 2016 12:10 AM PST
http://ift.tt/2gxdQaK

Amateur Radio volunteers are providing communication support to American
Red Cross shelters in Sevier County, Tennessee. Wind-driven flames and
embers from the Chimney Top Fire in Great Smoky Mountains National Park,
now closed, spread on Monday to threaten the communities of Gatlinburg and
Pigeon Forge in East Tennessee. Authorities have closed Highway 441 into
Gatlinburg, although it remains open only to emergency traffic and outbound
evacuation traffic. Media reports indicate that fire caused considerable
destruction in Gatlinburg, a resort community that attracts thousands of
visitors throughout the year. At peak, an estimated 1,300 evacuees occupied
six Red Cross or independently operated shelters, state authorities said,
although that number now is reported to have declined somewhat.

“At this point, no additional Amateur Radio support has been requested,�
ARRL Tennessee Section Manager Keith Miller, N9DGK, said on Tuesday
evening. “Members of nearby ARES® groups should remain aware of the
potential for this situation to change rapidly.�

Miller said all requests for additional communication support will come
from the State of Tennessee and local served agencies — or through the ARES
chain of command.