WELCOME TO THE CLARK COUNTY ARES/RACES WEB SITE

Welcome to the Clark County Washington ARES/RACES web site.  This web site benefits our local ARES/RACES organization by providing information, schedules and the forms that make our organization function smoothly. It also reveals the organization that is available to assist your organization in providing intra and extra-organization communications during emergency situations. We provide communications to supplement your existing communications links or provide replacement links should primary links fail. We work closely with CRESA (Clark Regional Emergency Service Agency) to provide emergency communications for their participating members.

See our chart on how we provide county-wide communications coverage.

If your organization would like to enter into a Support Agreement with ARES/RACES, please use the Support Agreement request found under the Contact Us menu on this web site. Our management would be happy to talk to you and discover your potential communications needs and provide more of an insight into how our service can help in time of need.

Clark County ARES /RACES is an arm of the the Clark County Amateur Radio Club

INTRODUCTION TO ARES/RACES

Clark County ARES/RACES is a volunteer organization of FCC licensed Amateur Radio operators whose major purpose is to provide county-wide emergency communications. In Clark County, the ARES/RACES organization is a dual organization. It can operate as Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), sponsored by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL); or it can operate as Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES), which is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under Federal Communication Commission (FCC) rules (Part 97, Subpart E, Section 97.407 ). Which role the organization takes depends upon the particular emergency or disaster situation as follows:

ARES provides emergency communications for non-governmental organizations (public and private) and local governmental agencies in times of “non-declared” emergencies or disasters. Operation is governed by this ARES/RACES plan, which is interfaced with the Clark County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan and the Washington State RACES Plan. A secondary purpose of ARES is to provide non-emergency, public service, communications for county agencies or other qualified organizations at the discretion of ARES officers.

RACES on the other hand, provides emergency communications for governmental agencies only, during officially “declared” emergencies or disasters (usually declared at the county, state, or federal level). Operation is governed by this ARES/RACES plan, the Clark County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan and the Washington State Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) Plan.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this plan is to provide guidance, establish responsibility, and ensure coordinated operations between Clark County Emergency Management officials and the ARES/RACES organization during times when there are extraordinary threats to the safety of life and/or property. Maximum benefits from the ARES/RACES organization can be obtained only through careful planning which identifies the organizations, agencies, and individuals concerned and assigns a definitive role to each. This plan enables agencies and organizations having emergency responsibilities to include the ARES/RACES organization in local emergency plans and programs.

ORGANIZATION

The Clark County ARES/RACES organization will consist of a management team, six geographical teams, and several special-function teams as needed.

Management Team (Team 0)

  1. Emergency Coordinator / RACES Officer (EC/RO). The Emergency Coordinator (for ARES) and RACES Officer (for RACES), hereafter simply called the Emergency Coordinator (EC), coordinates the overall program of the organization.
     
  2. Assistant Emergency Coordinator for Operations (AEC/RO – Operations) provides overall coordination of the Net Control Team (Team 7) and establishes a Coordination Net for training exercises and missions.
     
  3. Assistant Emergency Coordinator for Administration (AEC/RO – Administration) coordinates the recruitment of new members; keeps a record of all meetings, exercises and missions; maintains a database of membership and issues ARES/RACES ID badges.
     
  4. Assistant Emergency Coordinator for Liaison (AEC/RO – Liaison) acts as liaison with government and emergency service agencies.
     
  5. Assistant Emergency Coordinator for Logistics (AEC/RO – Logistics) provides logistical and technical support to all teams in the areas of radio equipment, packet equipment, computers, antennas, power supplies, propagation and frequency planning.

Geographical Teams

The county will be divided into six (6) geographical regions and a Team Leader assigned to each. The purpose of these teams is to establish a working relationship among each of the team members and with the various agencies they are assigned to serve, within that region. During actual emergency exercises and missions, the team organization will be used wherever possible, however members may be assigned to any location depending on the situation. This team concept should enhance recruitment and training, as well as the development of equipment resources. The six regions are as follows:

  1. North County (Team 1) – Zip Codes: 98604, 98629, 98642 and 98675; including the cities of Battle Ground, La Center, Ridgefield, Yacolt and the unincorporated communities of Amboy, Hockinson and Meadow Glade.
     
  2. East County (Team 2) – Zip Codes: 98607 and 98671; including the cities of Camas and Washougal.
     
  3. Orchards (Team 3) – Zip Codes: 98606, 98662, 98682 and 98686; including the unincorporated communities of Brush Prairie, Burton, Orchards, Sifton, and Walnut Grove.
     
  4. Cascade Park (Team 4) – Zip Codes: 98664, 98683 and 98684, including the unincorporated communities of Cascade Park and Fishers Landing
     
  5. Vancouver (Team 5) – Zip Codes: 98660, 98661, and 98663 including the city of Vancouver and the unincorporated community of Minnehaha.
     
  6. Hazel Dell (Team 6) – Zip Codes: 98665, 98685 and 98686; including the unincorporated communities of Hazel Dell, Felida, Lake Shore, Ridge Dell and Salmon Creek.

Specialized Teams

  1. Net Control (Team 7) – Under the leadership of the AEC for Operations, provides net control functions for the weekly ARES/RACES net, and the coordination net during exercises and disasters.
     
  2. Hospital (Team 8) – Supports the local hospitals with backup emergency communications.
     
  3. County Emergency Coordination Center (ECC) (Team 9) – Supports the County ECC with backup emergency communications.
     
  4. Red Cross (Team 10) – Supports the local chapter of the American Red Cross with backup emergency communications.
     
  5. Search And Rescue (Team 11) – Supports various county search and rescue operations.
Membership

Membership in Clark County ARES/RACES is by application to the Emergency Coordinator (EC). Applicant must complete both a county “Volunteer Emergency Worker Registration Form” and a Clark County ARES./RACES “Registration/Update Form” and therefore be registered in both ARES and RACES. See our Joining ARES/RACES page.

Upon approval by the Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency (CRESA), the applicant will be issued an Emergency Worker Registration number and ID badge for working as RACES. Upon approval by the Emergency Coordinator (EC), a Clark County ARES/RACES ID badge will be issued for working as ARES. The CRESA ID badge will be required when working for governmental agencies. The ARES ID badge will be required when working with other public and private service agencies. Some agencies may require a separate badge and/or registration when in their facilities. Other agencies, such as the Red Cross, will accept the ARES ID badge in lieu of their Red Cross ID.

Note:

All applicants are subject to a background check conducted by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
 
© 2006-2007 ARES/RACES Clark County Washington