EMC077 HIGHWAY PATROL ACS Unit  
To:   Emergency Communications Units - Information Bulletin
To:   Emergency Management Agencies via Internet and Radio 

EMC077 Highway Patrol ACS unit in action   For release 4/28/97

In response to requests for examples of how units are used in government,
here is how one was described in a recent article in the Victorville (CA)
Daily Press (12/23/96) by Chip Patterson, Staff Writer. It is used by
permission of the Daily Press, all rights reserved.  

The article began with a description of "Summit Comm" near Cajon Pass on
Interstate 15, northeast of Los Angeles. There, the fate of thousands of
travelers rests with officials huddled around a mock-up of the highway
system when the weather turns bad or there is a major incident. Colored
markers show the location of snow plows, patrol cars and accidents on a
table sized map that affords an overview of the entire situation.
Approximately 100,000 vehicles traverse the route daily, about 1/5 of
them trucks. 

Summit Comm is where Caltrans, the California Department of Forestry and
the California Highway Patrol (CHP) convene in a 'war-room' atmosphere to
manage the area. The decision to close the Cajon Pass is made by Caltrans
(state transportation department) and enforced by the CHP. 

To accomplish that task, officials need timely and accurate information
about the conditions in Cajon Pass. This has given rise to a unique group
of volunteers, the CHP Victorville Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS).

ACS unit participants go out in their own vehicles and survey conditions.
Via HAM radio, they report to their colleagues at a base station inside
the CHP office in Victorville. 'We've had to use people in uniform to do
this before. Now, our patrol officers can focus on critical tasks because
the group takes care of gathering and organizing information' said CHP
Sgt. John Macdonald.  The group has about 30 local members, some of whom
keep tabs on highway conditions in the area where they reside as well as
providing other services. Some of them have served as 'human repeaters',
standing in snowstorms and holding equipment so radio signals could get
through. 'The volunteers have been on "storm alert" several times in recent
weeks, and expect to be active when temperatures drop even lower and the
possibility of snow increases.'

'All of us are tied to the (Cajon) pass in one way or another', said Ron
Wilson, president of Desert Community Bank, which donated $2,500 so the
radio group could buy safety vests and equipment. (end)
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This information bulletin is a community service of the ACS (Auxiliary
Communications Service) of the California Office of Emergency Services;
2800 Meadowview Rd., Sacramento, CA. 95832 Ph: 916-262-1603  For more information visit our Internet Web page: http://www.acs.oes.ca.gov 
or at http://www.garlic.com/oes    Bulletin FTP archive is located at: 
ftp.ucsd.edu/hamradio/packet/tcpip/incoming for recent bulletins yet to
be filed; or at ftp.ucsd.edu/hamradio/races for earlier filed bulletins.
Email addresses: Cary_Mangum@oes.ca.gov or Stanly_Harter@oes.ca.gov
EOM EMC077