Hello to all…
***EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS ARES RETURNED TO STAND-BY STATUS UNTIL 6PM SUNDAY FOR NORTHSHORE / MIDDLESEX / METRO BOSTON DISTRICTS BUT ALL AREAS SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR***
***NO NEW REQUESTS FOR SERVICE HAVE BEEN RECEIVED, HOWEVER THE POTENTIAL REMAINS FOR ADDITIONAL SUPPORT REQUESTS OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS***
***ARES LEADERSHIP CONTINUES TO CLOSELY MONITOR THE SITUATION***
The following is a sit-rep to update the ARES activities that have been taking place in the Eastern Massachusetts section. A limited ARES deployment took place today at 12:00 at the Newbury Red Cross shelter to support damage assessment and shelter operations. Four operators traveled to the shelter in the event additional communications were necessary to assist with the operation, however by early afternoon ops had ended early and ARES members remained at the shelter through the afternoon to provide additional support if required and secured at 18:00 with no major incidents taking place. The following operators were deployed:
Charlie Rocheleau – W1CPR
Andy Kulhavy – KB1PGF
Bruce Pigott – KC1US
Jim Palmer – KB1KQW (On-site coordination with American Red Cross officials)
While the activity this afternoon was minimal, this proved a fantastic training exercise as well as an opportunity to continue to network with our served agency partners in Northeast Massachusetts. All activity was conducted on the Danvers NSRA 145.47 ARES/SKYWARN repeater with the Gloucester CAARA 145.13 repeater at the ready in the event coverage on Danvers was less than expected. Thanks to both clubs, as well as all our operators who were ready to provide support in the event additional requests were received.
As of 17:30 on Saturday, the number of reported power outages was approximately 17,500 with a majority of these outages centered over the North Shore through National Gird. There are still several communities that have a large number of outages with local residents seeking shelter for the evening. A few shelters remain open across the region (Newbury remains open this evening with a few occupants) with a minimal amount of occupancy reported through early afternoon at other area shelters; however this may change with time depending on weather conditions overnight and through tomorrow if it appears power restoration will take longer than expected. With this expected to last through Sunday, we must remain vigilant in the event an additional request to support sheltering or recovery operations takes place. In the event it looks unlikely further deployments will take place, ARES will be allowed to secure by early Sunday evening.
Please continue to coordinate your availability for Sunday with your DEC or local EC who will relay this information to Eric-KA1NCF and myself. Remember to take this time to check your go-kits to ensure everything is prepared for operations. Your DEC and EC are all available to answer any questions you may have regarding this operation.
What is ARES Stand-By mode?
ARES stand-by mode is to alert Amateurs within ARES that a mobilization is possible on a wide-scale and that some localized mobilizations are or could be taking place in isolated areas. It means to take a look at your Go-Kit and have batteries and equipment ready to go and charged up and take care of any requirements at home in case a mobilization is required and you can participate. Do NOT self-deploy. Wait for guidance from leadership for any deployment. It is an honor to be ready even if you don’t deploy for the event. Hopefully, this is just another exercise of our preparedness and capabilities. If not, the ARES leadership looks forward to working with you if any wide scale mobilization is required after the impact of this major storm to the region.
Thanks for your continued support of Eastern Massachusetts ARES!
Respectfully Submitted,
Jim Palmer – KB1KQW
Eastern Massachusetts Asst. Section Emergency Coordinator
North-side Operations
Carl Aveni – N1FY
Eastern Massachusetts Asst. Section Emergency Coordinator
South-side Operations