Western Kern County
Amateur Radio
Emergency Service

Rapid dissemination and collection of information to and from WKCARES members through Resource Nets and subsequent Tactical Nets. Applies to both actual emergencies and drills. First priority: the safety of you and your family.
Resource Net: W6LIE 2 m repeater · 145.150 MHz · −600 kHz offset · 100 Hz PL tone
Activation events: KCFD Office of Emergency Services request · earthquakes MMI V (Mike-Mike V) or greater · wildfires · major flooding & severe weather · large-scale power outage · terrorist events · communications outage · drills
Alerting methods: SMS/email from the WKCARES database (drills use this only) · telephone for actual emergencies · Resource Net on the primary or alternate frequency per the Area Frequency List (§ 9.1)
Report your status when you check in: GREEN ready to respond · YELLOW can send/receive from my location · RED need assistance · BLACK monitor only
Do NOT self-deploy. Wait for the RNCO (Resource Net Control Operator) to assign you. Do not check into a Tactical Net until directed. Check in with the RNCO when you arrive at, and depart from, your assignment and home.

Starting with tonight's net, the WKC ARES weekly net moves off the W6LIE 145.150 repeater and onto the KERN System (Kern Emergency Radio Network) — a linked network of repeaters covering Kern County and surrounding areas. Every linked repeater below reaches the whole system, so check in through the KERN repeater closest to you:

Frazier 447.860 − PL 141.3 · Buckrock 442.950 + PL 141.3 · Oak Flat 441.950 + PL 141.3 · Pelato 442.350 + PL 151.4 · Double Mt 446.320 − PL 151.4 · Cummings 442.925 + PL 141.3 · Taft 441.125 + PL 141.3 · San Benito 440.600 + PL 141.3 · Mt Stevenson 223.820 − PL 114.8 · Double 224.780 − PL 100.0

Full repeater list, coverage maps, and status: kernsystem.org.

Emergency and Resource Nets stay on the W6LIE 145.150 repeater per the Activation Plan — this change applies to the routine Monday 7:00 PM weekly net only.

One of our scouts turned us on to a pair of solid, free study links we thought were too good to keep to ourselves. Great starting points whether you're brand new to the hobby or brushing up on the basics.
Beginner's Guide to Ham Radio — lightyear.ai/blogs/a-beginners-guide-to-amateur-ham-radio
Simple Circuits (AP Physics 2) — varsitytutors.com/practice/subjects/ap-physics-2/lessons/simple-circuits

Tuesday, July 14 · 6:00 PM · Kern County Veterans Hall, 2101 Ridge Rd (Mt. Vernon & Ridge), Bakersfield · Agenda: upcoming activities · ARES status · Q&A · Map

Sunday, July 26 · 3:00 PM (1500 hrs) · 3715 Burr St, Bakersfield · Current WKC ARES members only · RSVP Laramie N6CUL · (661) 381-3935 · N6CUL@outlook.com · Map

This doesn’t happen often. Two of the most sought-after incident-command classes are coming right to the Kern County EOC this fall, taught in-person by TEEX (the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, one of FEMA’s premier training partners). Both classes are completely free through DHS’s cooperative-agreement program — the kind of training you’d otherwise travel out of state and pay for.

ICS-300 — Intermediate ICS + MGT-347 (ICS Forms) · Mon–Wed, September 15–17
This is where you move from “knows what ICS is” to “can actually run a section.” ICS-300 covers unified command, incident complexity, staffing an expanded incident, the operational planning cycle (the P), and how command, general staff, and unit-level assignments fit together during a real event. Bundled with it is MGT-347, a hands-on workshop for the ICS-201 through ICS-215A forms you’ll actually fill out at an incident — muscle memory instead of PowerPoint recall.

ICS-400 — Advanced ICS · Mon–Tue, October 13–14
The command-level class. Area Command, multi-agency coordination, complex incidents that span jurisdictions and disciplines, unified command in the real world. If you expect to lead major operations — or brief the people who do — this is your class. Note ICS-400 requires ICS-300 completion, so the September session is the on-ramp.

📍 Location: Kern County Emergency Operations Center, 2601 Panorama Dr, Bakersfield · Map

Prerequisites (both classes): ICS-100, ICS-200, IS-700, and IS-800. These are free, self-paced online courses through FEMA and take a few hours each. They’re already listed as tasks in the WKC ARES Task Book — open your task book and each course has a direct link to the FEMA page where you take it. ICS-400 additionally requires ICS-300 completion.

Important: Register on TEEX — Kern EOC staff cannot enroll you. TEEX also requires 30 registered students with completed prerequisites at least 3 weeks before the class start date, or the class may be cancelled. Don’t leave your registration to the last minute.

Questions? Laramie N6CUL — N6CUL@outlook.com