Emergency Information
Emergency Status
The C.A.R.L.A. Network is available for Normal Use
No part of the C.A.R.L.A. network is currently reserved for Emergency Communication, and thus is available for normal, day to day use as described in the Usage Guidelines. During times when specific systems within the network, or the entire network, are reserved for Emergency Communications, information will be available here outlining the nature of the emergency as well as which systems (if any) are specifically reserved.Emergency Usage Information
As described in the C.A.R.L.A. Mission Statement and the
History of the C.A.R.L.A. System, part of the reason C.A.R.L.A. exists is to
facilitate communications during times of local or regional emergency. To that end, we have provided this resource so
that people who use the system have an understanding of what to expect when emergency communications are
ongoing.What to do when the C.A.R.L.A. Network is being used for Emergency Communications
As always, good operating practice is to listen to the repeater (and by extension the rest of the network) prior to beginning your own transmission, especially if you've just recently turned on your radio or tuned into the network. When the network is being used for emergency communications, you can expect to hear related traffic, as well as periodic automatic and human operator announcements as to the state of the network.
Obviously, even if the system is being used in this fashion, if you find yourself in a situation where you need to pass traffic related to immenent harm to or the safety of persons or property, and a C.A.R.L.A. repeater is your only means to do so, we would expect you to make use of the system. Even in this situation, we would expect that in accordance with good operating practices, you would comply with requests of any net control that may be present on the repeater you're on or the network in general, and that you be mindful of others on the system who may be in the same situation as yourself.
If you do not have emergency traffic to pass, during times of emergency, we would ask that you not transmit on the C.A.R.L.A. system until the emergency has passed and the network has been released from emergency communications.
Who might be using the C.A.R.L.A. Network for Emergency Communications?
Generally, any auxilliary or emergency communications agency or group (such as state or county OES, ARES, RACES, etc) might be making use of the network during an emergency. C.A.R.L.A. currently has arrangements with specific agencies as listed below:
- CAL OES Governer's Office of Emergency Services: General Network Use
- Colusa County Sheriff's Office: System 36 (Secondary Resource)
How can my agency or group make arrangements to use the C.A.R.L.A. Network for Emergency Communications?
If you wish to make arrangements ahead of time, please Contact the Administrative Department.
If your agency or group does not have a pre-existing arrangement with C.A.R.L.A., and an emergency situation occurs where use of the C.A.R.L.A. network is necessitated, please take the following steps:
- Monitor the C.A.R.L.A. network or specific repeater system to determine if a controlled net is in progress
- If a controlled net is in progress, contact the net control and advise them of your need and request permission to pass your traffic
- If a controlled net is not in progress, or you cannot reach net control, issue a general call for a C.A.R.L.A. control operator, and one will assist you if available
- If your agency or group needs the use of a specific repeater, and that repeater is not currently engaged in use during the emergency, you may be able to make arrangements to have that repeater reserved for you (either by using the local PL or by having the repeater segmented from the network). Again, please work with any existing net control or a C.A.R.L.A. control operator to make this kind of arrangement