San Luis Obispo

ARES/RACES/SLOECC

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) is an ARRL program consisting of licensed radio amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment with their local ARES leadership for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes.  ARES may be activated before, during and after an emergency.  Generally, ARES handles emergency messages between governmental and non-governmental emergency management and response agencies. ARES also provides health and welfare communications for citizens impacted by an emergency or disaster. Every licensed radio amateur, regardless of membership in ARRL or any other local or national organization is eligible to apply for membership in ARES.  Training is required to fully participate in SLO County ARES.  A membership application is available on the SLOECC website.

The Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) is a radio service authorized under Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations,  Part 97 of the FCC Rules and Regulations.  RACES is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and activated locally through SLO County OES or other government agencies.  RACES almost never starts before an emergency and is activated only by a specific government request during the emergency and during the immediate aftermath to provide needed communications support. RACES is normally deactivated shortly after the emergency has cleared.  In SLO County, ARES members may also be authorized as RACES operators after completing Intermediate Level ARES & FEMA training and submitting to a background check, pending approval by the SLO County Administration Department.  

SLO County ARES and RACES operations must comply with the National Incident Management System (NIMS).  We operate under the Incident Command System (ICS) when activated.

ARES/RACES FAQs can be found at:  https://www.arrl.org/ares-races-faq

The San Luis Obispo Emergency Communications Council (SLOECC) serves as the logistics support organization for all amateur radio emergency services in SLO County.  Through its Board of Directors and program committees, SLOECC provides logistics support, periodic training meetings, weekly on-the-air nets, and field-training exercises to help ARES members and RACES operators prepare for effective emergency communication service.   Any radio amateur can apply for membership in SLOECC and assist with logistics support. A membership application is available on the SLOECC website.

NEVER SELF-DEPLOY FOR AN INCIDENT OR DRILL.  Self-deployment adds unnecessary stress to an already chaotic incident and drains allocated resources.  Self-deployed volunteers become part of the problem and not part of the solution.  We do not self-deploy.  There are no exceptions.