SAFENET


SAFENET

Wildland Fire Safety & Health Reporting Network

SAFENET Event Information
Create Agency Response

SAFENET ID:
20250704-0001
Event Start Date:
07/03/2025 0630
Event Stop Date:
07/04/2025 0830 
Incident Name:
Gila Nations Forest Communicarions/Repeaters
Fire Number:
Noonday 
State:
New Mexico
Jurisdiction:
USFS
Local Unit:
Gila Nationa
Incident Type:
Wildland
Incident Activity:
Line
Stage of Incident:
Initial Attack, Extended Attack
Position Title:
Center Manager 
Task:
Radio Communications 
Management Level:
4
Resources Involved:
All Silver City RD, Black Range RD, Wilderness RD approx 1.5 million acres of respose area being affected 
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.
Subject: Ongoing Radio Communication Issues Following Switch to C-Soft

2023 a white paper was submitted by two safety officers assigned to incidents in Reserve, NM. Paper highlighted and address issues concerning known radio commo issues across the entirety of the Gila National Forest. The issues still have not been resolved of continue be an issue and expected to be an issue.

Since the Gila National Forest transitioned from Moducom to C-Soft as our communication platform, we have experienced persistent issues with field communications. While we have submitted multiple tickets to report these problems, some issues have been short-lived and did not result in a formal submission. However, the frequency and impact of these problems have significantly increased.

We are now in the peak of our fire season, with multiple active incidents and aircraft operations supporting each one. Reliable radio communication is essential for the safety and coordination of wildland firefighters, and these ongoing issues present a serious hazard. The last two days alone have highlighted just a small portion of the broader challenges we have faced with this system.

We urge that this matter be treated with urgency, as uninterrupted and reliable communication is critical for firefighter safety, operational effectiveness, and mission success. We feel we need a national contract for repeater site maintenance and repair. It's a known issue at the forest, region, and Washington level. Addressing the current administrations stance on wildfire suppression, safe and effective suppression will not occur until this known issue is resolved.
Immediate Action Taken
Reporting Individual : please describe actions you took to correct or mitigate the unsafe/unhealthful event.
We have alerted Forest and regional office. District Duty Officers and FMO's routinely have to relay information to the dispatch office for IC's on fires which can effect the timeliness of aircraft and additional resources. We communicate with the forest and regional communications techs and the issues do not get resolved. Most times being called "network issue". We will continue to work with District Duty Officers to get the messages our radios are down so the wildland firefighters on the ground can make the best decisions.


Return to Top