SAN Luis Obispo County, California, ARES members provided communications support to the American Red Cross July 15-16 after more than 100 people were evacuated from their homes during a wildfire in the Los Padres National Forest.

NORTH San Luis Obispo County Emergency Coordinator Bob Alberti, W6TTX, issued a preliminary announcement on the countywide ARES repeater, asking ARES members to monitor for a possible callout. W6TTX also activated the North County ARES telephone tree.

WITH 40 homes in the path of the fire, the California Division of Forestry (CDF) began evacuating residents to an emergency shelter at the Atascadero High School gymnasium the evening of July 15.

ARES members took part in various activities during the three-day fire, which eventually burned some 1300 acres. Amateurs staffed the Red Cross shelter at the high school and the emergency communications center at the regional Red Cross office in San Luis Obispo--20 miles away and over a mountain range. ARES members also helped CDF and the county sheriff to redirect to the high school shelter a number of confused residents who sought refuge at the nearby Santa Margarita Elementary School, a shelter site during previous fires.

One especially grateful couple from Arizona was able to return from the shelter to their evacuated RV about 10:15 the first evening, after hams notified the shelter that CDF had reopened that road.

- submitted by James K. Palmer, W6FOB