In an article below, my friend Dale Knutsen discusses safety and communication while in the forest.  His suggestion regarding the use of Citizens Band (CB) Radios has me thinking about all the times when our regular means of communication was unavailable.  The Almanor Basin area has suffered through a number of instances when we were without power, no cell coverage available and landlines down too.

Now, what if you or a loved one is suffering a major health emergency?  How do you call for help?  I am thinking having a CB would be a good solution.  CB requires no infrastructure; only needing a charged battery.  If we could get our emergency responders to pick a channel(s) to be used in emergency situations in the Basin, we would have at least a chance of contacting someone who could relay a call for help.  CBs are relatively inexpensive and as I said, require no infrastructure.

Our Fire Chiefs meet on a regular basis.  I suggest you contact yours and ask that they establish this additional means of getting help.  I have mentioned this to them a number of times; however, they did not seem to be receptive to the idea.  Perhaps if they received enough encouragement from citizens in their area, they might work on providing us with yet another possibility to save a life in an emergency!

I hope you enjoy the following article regarding safety and communications in our beautiful forests.  My thanks to Dale for providing this valuable information!

Enjoying Your Forest Outings

By Dale Knutsen

The passage of winter brings out the urge to go visit the forest once again.  Fishing and hiking beckon, and there are delightful sights, sounds and even smells to enjoy in the woods.  But there are a few cautions to keep in mind if we want to keep our outings pleasant.

First is the matter of planning.  Know where you are going, and let a responsible person know your destination, your planned route and when you expect to return.  That way, if you don’t reappear by the appointed time, someone will be able to get help on its way without delay.

Be sure you are dressed and equipped for the outing.  An unexpected rain shower can dampen more than spirits, and running out of water on a warm hike starts to raise safety concerns.  There are numerous sources of advice for what to carry for various kinds of outings; it’s smart practice to consult those lists from time to time.

Most of us rather enjoy the quiet time of a forest outing and we’d just as soon be “disconnected” from electronic devices while we’re enjoying nature.  But we’d also like the ability to communicate with someone if we should experience a vehicle problem, a turned ankle or some other unplanned issue.  And this can be a challenge in our neck of the woods.

Cell phones are great … when they have service.  It’s no surprise that cell service is very spotty in our region, so you may not be able to connect with anyone when you really need to.  Walkie-talkies are a good way to stay in touch with nearby forest companions, like fellow hikers, as long as they aren’t very far away.  People who spend a lot of time in the forest sometimes a carry personal locator beacon, like SPOT, that can send a one-way distress message via a satellite link.

Another communication alternative is the good ol’ Citizens’ Band (CB) radio.  It turns out that the timber people who work the forest use CB radio for safety, to communicate their location on those narrow dirt roads.  That way they know when to pull over at a wide spot to let an oncoming big rig come by safely.  Here’s how it works:

• At the highway on an active logging route you will find a paper plate or some other sign attached to a tree with a CB channel number listed; this is the channel being used on that particular route.
• Along the route there will be other paper plates attached to trees with distance numbers printed on them (e.g., 1, 2, 3, etc.); these indicate the approximate distance in miles from the highway entrance.
• Inbound trucks will report their location on the designated CB channel with words like “inbound, marker 3” or “coming in, mile 7”.
• Outbound (heavily loaded) traffic will do the same with words like “loaded, mile 9”, “heavy, marker 5” or “coming out, at 11”.

Just by listening to the CB and keeping track of the paper plate markers you can tell when it’s time to get out of the way.  If you actually transmit your location as well, it will help the truckers know what traffic is coming up (e.g., “red pickup coming in, marker 5”).  And, if you should encounter a problem, contacting a trucker by CB may cause them to make your situation known when they reach civilization.  It’s worth a try!

Of course, it helps to know your location when you call for help.  That’s where maps and GPS come in.  But that’s a story for another time.

Olsen Barn Background:

The Olsen Barn property is 107 acres of meadow, creek side forest, and wetland adjacent to Lake Almanor at the eastern entrance to the town of Chester, California. Besides the stunning vistas of Lake Almanor and Lassen Peak, the property is best known for the over 130 year old historic barn. The Olsen Barn property is both environmentally and culturally significant and has long been treasured by the surrounding community.

Save Olsen Barn–Now or Never! The Olsen Barn property appears frozen in time, altered little over the last century, but that could change if the property is not conserved. The property has recently changed hands several times and is again up for sale. Because of the threat that future landowners could diminish wildlife habitat or block public access, Feather River Land Trust secured an agreement in late January 2015 with the owner to purchase the property for permanent conservation and public recreation. Now comes the fun part–raising the money to make this happen.

We have until April 15 to raise the initial $65,000 to secure an option to purchase it. Once we secure the option we will have until October to raise the additional funds. Once the option is in place we gain access to $400,000 in state water bond funding for protecting river parkways. We have raised over $50,000 to secure the option and need a little more help from the Almanor Basin community to raise the remaining few thousand.

We plan to hold a number of events this spring and summer to engage the community and help raise the additional funds needed to make protecting this community treasure forever.

There will be another tour of the Olsen Barn property this Saturday, 28 March, at 1 p.m. Meet at the end of the Causeway on Highway 36 just east of Chester. Parking at the Collins Pines Rail Trail. Co-leaders will be Mike Yost, Ryan Burnett, Greg McIntire and Paul Hardy.

http://www.frlt.org/saveolsenbarn

Our Almanor Recreation Center is about to undergo a change!

I am very excited to announce the Almanor Recreation Center will be undergoing some very positive changes. The Center will be taken off line for a few months, starting the first week in January, in order to allow for much needed improvements.

Once again our community has stepped forward with the offer of help where help is badly needed. It has formed a team of volunteers who are willing to donate their time and skills to enhance what they see as a valuable resource to the Almanor Basin. This type of spirit is what makes living in our small, mountain community so wonderful!

The Center was originally constructed with grant funding. There were a number of things that were not completed due to lack of money, as well as the need to complete construction within the timelines of the grant. Since completion, we have been looking for opportunities to finish the work we began almost eight years ago; however, the County budget never presented the ability to fund the work.

When the senior nutrition site was closed in Greenville a few years ago, we were able to get their kitchen equipment donated to the Center. This equipment has been stored, awaiting the day that Plumas County could fund and complete that phase of the work. Last June, the County budget process presented an opportunity and money was allocated to the upgrade. While the funding will cover the costs of materials, the project would be unattainable without the dedicated community volunteers.

Changes will include an upgrade to the kitchen, electrical service, exterior lighting and any other needs that we are able to address within the resources available, in the labor pool and money. The Center will continue to be a work in progress, and someday, a future phase will include completion of the parking lot. The present phase of work has been scheduled for the winter months when the volunteers are available during our “off-season”.

While planning work for the Center, it became obvious that we needed to include the Memorial Hall in a coordinated approach at best utilizing both without redundancy. Achieving a balance between the two facilities is indeed a challenge. There is never a lack of needs and wants; only a lack of available dollars. Future upgrades to Memorial Hall, which serves many community needs as well as that of our designated emergency shelter, will certainly enhance her functionality. Improvements to the Recreation Center and Memorial Hall will be evaluated in a coordinated manner so as to compliment one another. This work is truly a community driven project.

Please revisit my blog as we progress with the plans for the Memorial Hall and her role in our community.

The Center will be unavailable for any use during this time; individuals and groups who regularly use it shall be directed to the Memorial Hall. Although work on the ARC will continue to be a work in progress as time, funding and community support allow, it is such a pleasure to finally see this phase, scheduled for months and planned for years finally becoming a reality!