The Wells Gray Amateur Radio Club (WGARC) in Clearwater has recently constructed a new repeater station in the North Thompson.
Many hours of hard work by the club's volunteer members contributed to the successful installation of the repeater. It is now up and running as part of a vast network to assist in back country and valley communications.
“The newest repeater station will be a vital addition to the emergency services network in Wells Gray Country covering Wells Gray Provincial Park," says club treasurer Cliff Olson. "This includes Clearwater Lake, Azure Lake, Upper Clearwater, Mahood Lake, and the hope is even as far-reaching as the far east side of Wells Gray at Murtle Lake.”
The WGARC was founded in 1983, providing connectivity via amateur or ham radio networking throughout the North Thompson. It has evolved into an important way to assist in emergency services, with far-reaching capability linking directly to first responders via ham operators all along the valley from Blue River to Kamloops.
The club is a registered non-profit society, and the membership meets on a regular basis to plan and offer support where needed for emergencies.
“Our goal is to provide specific concentrated efforts in radio communication," explains Olson. "Not physical emergency service such as first aid, but rather to be of support to first responders or wherever called upon in the valley.
“If someone was missing in Wells Gray Park, and Wells Gray Search and Rescue needs back up via communications on a rescue mission like that where there is currently no cellular service, we immediately offer support via our network. The stations bounce or ‘talk’ to each other and we can effectively reach the main hub for emergency services in Kamloops if necessary; something that can prove to be essential in a potential natural disaster if power goes down or other services like cell, internet and so on are impacted.”
Olson explains that the club is protective of the locations of the stations in this network for good reason, as there has been equipment vandalized and stolen in the past. The newest station’s exact location is quite remote and remains undisclosed to the public, to protect and maintain the integrity of the settings, which are still being “fine-tuned” as a new working unit in Wells Gray Park’s expansive region.
"We in the Upper Clearwater Valley are so fortunate to have the dedication of the Wells Gray Amateur Radio Club’s work installing repeater towers within Wells Gray in the North Thompson area," says Upper Clearwater Volunteer Fire Brigade deputy fire chief and WGARC board president Chris Nowak.
"For the Upper Clearwater Volunteer Fire Brigade this is a vital and much-needed resource, so that we can clearly and effectively communicate, when necessary, with other agencies if and when an emergency happens. With no cell phone coverage in the upper valley, we rely on our radios as our only means of communication."
Blackpool Fire Rescue and Little Fort fire chief Mike Savage agrees. “The repeater was a great initiative undertaken by the Wells Gray Amateur Radio Club, spearheaded by Cliff Olson as lead on the project and site build. Sites like this provide much-needed additional coverage for the back country and Wells Gray Park in times of emergency or disaster.”
Thompson-Nicola Regional District Area "A" director Usoff Tsao met with Olson earlier in the year to discuss what the radio club does, and was excited to be able to offer some funding through the TNRD to purchase the important solar panels needed to complete the build. At the time, Tsao commented that he wanted to “add resiliency to the communication systems in the valley,” emphasizing the gaps in cell service in many rural areas in the interior of B.C.
Olson describes how the networking planning is becoming a reality in partnership with the valley-wide fire departments. “Mike Savage has led the way in coordinating with the fire departments in the valley and sourcing key funding for these emergency repeaters. They will become a strategic system with overlapping signals for fire departments, including Blue River, Avola, Vavenby, Clearwater, Blackpool, Little Fort, Chu Chua and also Barriere in the near future.
"This system will allow all of these rural departments to connect quickly with Kamloops Fire Hall #1 when necessary, during emergency situations.”
If you are interested in becoming a member of the Wells Gray Amateur Radio Club or have questions on courses, testing and equipment, you can visit the Wells Gray Amateur Radio Club Facebook page or the club’s website at http://wellsgrayarc.ca/.
