Yesterday the ARRL posted a news item relevant to this time of year – some amateur radio enthusiasts hiking in the woods for SOTA found a spot fire, reported it, and potentially stopped a wildfire before some winds kicked up…
Check out the video:
SOTA (Summits on The Air) is a sort of a game to see how far and with how many people you can communicate with using portable radio you haul up to the top of a local hill or summit. It’s also a great excuse to get out and get a good hike in on a weekend. In this case, it was doubly helpful in that the handheld radios work where many cell phones can’t out in the wilderness, being able to call up someone on a linked repeater and call in some help for a growing fire. According to ARRL’s report, “After the firefighters left, the winds picked up dramatically. Had that happened earlier, the outcome could have much worse“!