Issues with the Plumas National Forest Telephone, radio, internet, and backup power infrastructure have been on-going for over a year.
R5 Regional Office Leadership and Forest Leadership are aware of the issues, and are engaged working toward solutions. On the PNF, there has been a CIO study and phone system replacement moving forward with $350,000 coming out of PR funds to partially fix issues with the radio and phone system. Upgrades are in progress to update the phone system and add simulcast capability to the radio system. In addition 30 handheld radios are currently waiting repair/return, three repeaters are not functioning properly and one destroyed during Camp Fire. In addition, cell phone service is very limited in the Quincy CA area nearest cell tower to the area is 14 miles away and the cellular providers have not addressed the lack of service despite tickets being opened. Additional funds and capacity is needed. Phone tickets have been placed and repairs have been ongoing for months and the bottom line is the CIO group, venders/contractors and phone radio support isn’t able to react quick enough or with the right fix. This is a huge safety concern and has been for some time. This isn’t exclusive to the Plumas ECC as numerous other R5 ECC’s are having similar issues. |
