SAFENET


SAFENET

Wildland Fire Safety & Health Reporting Network

SAFENET Event Information
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SAFENET ID:
20250605-0003        [Corrective Actions]
Event Start Date:
05/25/2025 1300
Event Stop Date:
 
Incident Name:
CA-SQF/CA-CND Radio System Down - Only working intermittently.
Fire Number:
 
State:
California
Jurisdiction:
USFS
Local Unit:
USFS - Sequoia National Forest and BLM - Central CA District
Incident Type:
All Hazard
Incident Activity:
Line, Support, Transport to/from, Readiness/Preparedness
Stage of Incident:
Initial Attack, Extended Attack, Transfer of Command, Mop Up, Non-incident, Other
Position Title:
Zone Safety Officer  
Task:
Zone Safety Officer 
Management Level:
N/A
Resources Involved:
All Forest Service and BLM radio system users dispatched by CCICC. 
Contributing Factors
Contributing Factors:
Communications
Human Factors:
 
Other Factors:
 
Narrative
Describe in detail what happened including the concern or potential issue, the environment (weather, terrain, fire behavior, etc), and the resulting health issue.
Central CA Interagency Communications Center (CCICC) "Porterville" Radios have been intermittent and not working in areas since May 25, 2025. On the Cotton Incident (CA-CND) where both CND and SQF resources were dispatched the IC's for the BLM and USFS had problems making communication with Porterville Dispatch. It was also reported by the Hume Lake Ranger District that they had communications issues over the Memorial Day weekend holiday communicating with CCICC. Our LMR Radio Techs for the Sequoia are aware of the situation and identified the problem as the microwave links for the forest. From my inquiries with the Radio Techs it sounds like it is a training issue on the new microwave links that were installed and the new microwave links not being programmed correctly when they were delivered by the vendor. The Radio Techs are scheduled to attend a training on the new microwave link. We are in fire/field season and not having a working radio system to provide critical communications is a major safety issue for field, law enforcement, and fire personnel.
Immediate Action Taken
Reporting Individual : please describe actions you took to correct or mitigate the unsafe/unhealthful event.
If users cannot reach Porterville dispatch by Radio, landline the ECC.

Non-Fire field going personal, do not go into the field unless necessary. If you do please made check-in plans with your supervisor or coworkers.

We have Radio Tech’s working on the issue and will update when we have additional information.

Our Center Managers through our coop plan have identified that using cooperating agencies radio communications as a back-up is an option and they have worked with other local cooperators to make them aware of the issue and made an agreement to use their systems as a backup for running emergency incidents.


Agency Response

20250605-0003-CA001

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