K7CEM-New

Most folks who sign up for Elon Musk’s STARLINK satellite system use it to provide reliable internet to their homes, especially in areas not otherwise reachable by traditional internet providers.  Friday, January 7th, the Centralia Amateur Radio Emergency Service team found another use for this service as flood waters engulfed the region cutting off transportation routes and closing Interstate 5 along a 20-mile stretch.  With the complete system  easily transportable and quickly deployable, team member Paul Barwick, KE7PCB, had the equipment running in his Chevy Bolt and the satellite dish mounted on the car’s roof in close to five minutes.  With this setup parked next to our communications van at Riverside Fire Station #5, team members were able to monitor sites reporting water levels and road closures throughout the area, as well as passing messages via email and monitoring satellite TV stations for news reports and weather forecasts.  The system worked flawlessly throughout the entire day and greatly enhanced our team’s situational awareness capabilities.  Between heavy snowfall throughout our area, closing all passes over the Cascades and major flooding as well, I have a feeling we may be using this system more than once this season.

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service team has, over the years, been involved with several major flood events in Lewis County.  Each one is different.  There have been some “100-year floods” and many, many lesser floods – all needing attention in one form or another from the Centralia Emergency Management.

The waters that visited our community January 6-8th, were different yet again.  While Centralia has three waterways that can and do flood – the Chehalis River, the Skookumchuck River and China Creek – it is usually the Chehalis River that causes the most problems.  This time it was the Skookumchuck that grew from a Western Washington snow event and a river of rain that visited the area.  Once the flooding began, it grew quickly into a very dangerous situation.  The Skookumchuck River is held in its riverbanks by levies on both sides of the river.  In normal years, this holds flood waters and safely moves them through the city.  The flood waters of 2022 were so large they threatened to burst the levies.

Thursday afternoon, January 6th, localized flooding caused the city to place sandbag stations out for business and homeowners.  By early evening, most of the downtown streets were flooding and the street department was trying to stay ahead by placing cones and barricades to keep motorists out of the deep water.  By 8pm, the Centralia emergency management had opened and staffed the Emergency Operations Center.  Late in the evening, well after dark, the threat of a levy break forced the city to issue voluntary evacuation notifications.  While most people stayed in their homes, the threat was very real.  By Friday morning, widespread flooding caused the closure of Interstate 5.  Interstate traffic came to a halt as any and all secondary roads around flooded areas were also closed.  This also forced many motorists into the smaller communities where they were confronted with closed streets and water over the roadways.  Centralia ARES worked from Thursday night to Friday evening in the EOC working both amateur radio and law enforcement comms.  Our communications vans were activated as well, using one for command and control for our ARES volunteers and the other for barricade duty and traffic control.  Thankfully, our wonderful ARES volunteers were there to help as well directing motorists around localized flood issues and monitoring river levels around the community.  By Friday afternoon, the waters began to recede and Interstate 5 was reopened.  Our ARES team was able to stand down.  It is never a question “if” flooding will occur each year.  Instead, it is a question of “how bad” will it be.  By late October, our ARES team is training for flood issues.  Large or small, our volunteers are there to assist our community.  Thanks to all the volunteers that answered the call.

On an unusually sunny morning yesterday, Sunday December 19th, Centralia Police Department requested the ARES team in a support mission to search for evidence at the scene of an ATM bombing in our community.  The team was alerted and thirteen members responded to the call.  Comm III was set up at a staging area across from the scene in a grocery store parking lot.  As team members responded they checked in with Paul KE7PCB, as primary net control.  Jim, K7CEX and Evelyn, KE7ACI served as backup net control from Jim’s home.  Once at the scene, everyone was given a situation report and waited for the assignment they knew would come.

Before long, the team was put to work.  Washington State Patrol’s bomb squad had made the site safe and had recovered the evidence on scene that they needed.  Centralia ARES members, once gloved up, were assigned in teams of two or three along with a CPD detective prior to a complete search of the scene nearest to the bombing location.  Over the next hour or two, the teams slowly and methodically searched every inch of the scene – an estimated 10,000 sq. feet, bagging, under the direction of CPD, anything that even slightly appeared to be possible evidence.  Once all search teams had completed their searches, our ARES team was released and allowed to head home.  While a long day, it certainly was an interesting and educational process.

Team members on this detail included Don, AI7CE, Skip, K1HEK, Jim, K7CEX, Evelyn, KE7ACI, Paul, KE7PCB, Frank, KF7RSI, Kevin, KI7KKS, John, KI7YEF, Ken, K6YUQ, Bill, N7GWK, Chuck, W5KAV, Diane, W7DWD and Bob, KD7OWN.  Thanks to all the Centralia Amateur Radio Emergency Service team members who were able to participate.  You did a great job!