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Wenatchee NFS & Fischer Fire
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Author:  Dennis E [ Tue Aug 17, 2004 7:00 am ]
Post subject:  Wenatchee NFS & Fischer Fire
Spent a week camping along the Chiwawa River in Lake Wenatchee area. Lots of fire traffic. First, the Fischer Fire near Peshastin was using 159.33 DNR as their 'command' freq and lots of simplex, which they called TAC XX or whatever. But then they took down the 159.33 Rptr Friday when a national team took over. I didn't get a chance to get close to the fire to find the new freqs.
I finally got a look at the Forest Service frequency booklet for this year. It's a user's guide for those using the Bendix King portables in the Wenatchee and Okanogan forests. Didn't get enuf time to copy the Okanogan NSF freqs but here's what the radios in the Wenatchee forest contain.
Radios are programmed with the Group concept and each Group (or bank) is set up for 16 frequencies. Group is the Forest Svc terminology for each separate Ranger District. Frequent radio traffic goes something like this -- "Wenatchee, 7-Hart" Hart is the last name of an employee in the Group 7 or Leavenworth Ranger District (he's the FPO-Fire Protection Officer for that district) and he's calling dispatch central in City of Wenatchee as opposed to his specific ranger station.

Group 2 Chelan, Group 3 Cle Elum, Group 4 Methow Valley,
Group 5 Entiat , Group 6 Lk Wenatchee, Group 7 Leavenworth, Group 8 Naches, Group 9 Tonasket.

Forest Net 1 is primary freq for # 6&7 groups on 171.5. Forest Net 2 is primary freq at least #5 & 2 on 172.25. (I couldn't spend too much time copying info from the guide, whose title is Okanogan & Wenatchee Nat'l Forest Radio Communications Guide-2004.) Okanogan NF using different primary freqs

Modes of communication - (example is for Leavenworth&Lake Wenatchee districts)
1-when they are in the same river valley, say the Chiwawa, they use Net 1 in simplex mode. When calling their local district, like Lake Wenatchee, they try simplex first then switch to repeater mode if they can't communicate simplex. When calling Wenatchee central dispatch, they use repeater mode for more important traffic rather than having their local district office relay for them.
2- when they need a repeater, they switch channels to the closest repeater site so that input freq to repeaters is the same but the PL tone is different. They will say -- "Wentachee...7-Hart on Alpine." This alerts Wenatchee to listen to the Alpine receiver (rptr is at the manned lookout site called Alpine on Nason Ridge between US2 and Lake Wenatchee).
Repeater Site Freq input (I'm not going to bother with PL tones)
Alpine 166.3>Net 1
Dirty Face 166.3>Net 1 peak @ NW corner Lk Wenatchee
Icicle 166.3>Net 1 unsure but somewhere on Icicle Creek Rd
Burch Mtn 166.3>Net 1 NW of Wenatchee across Columbia River
Natapoc 166.3>Net 1 closest to intersection of US 2 and Hwy 207 (which is where you turn north to go to Lake Wenatchee area)
Channels programmed for Leavenworth-Lk Wenatchee districts
Ch 1 - 171.50 Forest Net 1
Ch 2 - 172.25 Forest Bet 2
Ch 3--170.125 simplex
Ch 4 - 166.675 input to Net 2 used by Entiat, etc.
Ch 5 - 173.050 booklet just says Wenatchee Fire (rarely heard)
Ch 6 - 168.200 TAC
Ch 7 - 159.225 Area 2C DNR repeater
Ch 8 - 151.475 input to DNR Ch 7 rptr
Ch 9 - 151.415 DNR Common (think this is only simplex but unsure)
Ch 10 - 153.83 State Red Net (don't know much about this one)
Ch 11 - 159.27 DNR Air to ground (was used a lot for ground crews directing air tankers and helos fighting Fischer Fire)
Ch 12 --Chelan Co Fire #2 154.43
Ch 13 --Chelan Co Fire #3 154.25
Ch 14 -- 164.5625 Forest Service Region 6. HQ for NW forests so this freq should be in every FS radio.
15 & 16 show they are unused. I also show a 168.750 in my list but not sure what this is, and I've misplaced what Forest Service Air Attack simplex frequency is.
Author:  Mark [ Tue Aug 17, 2004 8:40 am ]
Post subject: 
Really nice report Dennis. Thought I'd repost my listing from 2001. I took a trip up central CA/OR/WA. I'll just repost the WA freq's. Towards to bottom is a list that Steve put together from the two fires close to Leavenworth.

-m

Richland to Cle Elum (Hwy 240 and Hwy 90)

172.275 phone patch
173.46
122.0
154.65 in. to SP?
168.1
168.775
168.65

Cle Elum to Leavenworth (Hwy 97)

166.6125
167.1
867.5375
867.6125
166.4625
168.2
415.525
170.475
166.725
170.55
151.415
172.675
151.415
153.83
169.15
123.1
414.65 (link 123.1)
166.725
173.35
170.475
154.25
853.5375
168.2375
167.1
415.325
172.425
168.735
27.155
156.135
168.4
168.735
415.525

Dept of Forestry - State of Alaske
radios used at the Leavenworth fire

166.725
166.775
168.6325
168.2475
168.3975
168.7475
169.1475
153.83

Freq's found during trip (Alturas to Leavenworth) and entered into the scanner but not writen down until I got home - in the order I found them

133.275
172.525
171.175
172.525
171.875
172.35
173.8125
170.6
170.425
412.2
171.925
171.125
411.45
172.675
133.625
411.425
169.575
460.025
163.75
156.075
166.4875
128.05
27.255
415.325
158.265
153.335
159.345
149.7
135.35
154.65
158.91
173.46
135.275
159.225
141.875
166.6125
119.925
123.0
135.525
173.35
170.475
158.895
172.43
168.735
172.425
154.86
171.0

Leavenworth Fire Summary - thanks to Steve

Leavenworth Forest Fire related frequencies (8.17.2001)

27.1550 CB - Chan 16
123.1000 Linked with 414.650
135.5250 Seattle Center?
151.2800 DNR
151.4150 DNR Common
153.7700 Local Fire - Snoh Tac
153.8300 Local Fire - Red Net
154.2500 Local Fire
154.9350 WSP
155.3700 LERN
155.6400 WSP
156.1350 Local Fire - OSCAR
158.9850 WSP
159.0750 WSP
159.2250 DNR
159.4200 DNR
166.4600
166.4625
166.6125 Chan. 5
166.6150
166.7225 Tac 1 *
166.7750 Tac 2 *
167.1000 Chan 7
168.1350
168.2000
168.2475 Chan 4 *
168.2500 Tac 3
168.3975 Chan 7 *
168.4000
168.6250
168.6500 Air Tac
168.6625 Chan 3 *
168.7325
168.7350
168.7475 Chan 8 *
168.7750
169.1475 Chan 9 *
169.1500 Aircraft
170.4750
170.5500
171.5000
172.4250
172.4375
172.6750
173.3500
414.6500 Aircraft
415.3250
415.5200
415.5250 Wenatchee Center
450.5125 KING TV
454.6000
853.5375
867.5375
867.6125

* Frequencies obtained from Alaska Department of Forestry Radio
Author:  FlashP [ Tue Aug 17, 2004 2:11 pm ]
Post subject:  Fire freqs
Great stuff, Dennis. 168.750 was a national 'aerial detection' channel years ago, according to an old list.

The new BK radio models have gone from 14 channels per bank to 16 per bank, so programming the last two 'empty' seems to cover a phase-in period.

All radios from the national cache should have "air safety guard" in the last channel, 168.625.
Author:  STEVE F. [ Thu Aug 19, 2004 8:26 am ]
Post subject: 
Dennis, nice work, & post! :D must have taken a lot of time!!


STEVE F.
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