Hi All, thought I'd write about an experience I had over the weekend =
doing the I.A.R.U. contest from W7GG'S central Oregon
contest location, as it will be one that will most defineteley stand out =
as one that I will remember, and will be impossiable for us to forget !!
It started off friday morning still not knowing if W7GG =
was going to do the test, as he had some sort of bug and was not feeling =
real well, but being the intense competitor that he is, he went to the =
doc, got a pocket full of medicine and gave me a call at my work QTH =
about 9:00 o'clock friday morning saying he was headed over to the =
contest station and was going to give it a try, and it should be no =
problem as he wanted to do c.w. (no talking, he could save his voice) =
and my youngest son and I could do phone part, sounded good to me ! but =
also to stick somewhat close to the 2 mtr radio as there was a small =
lighting started forest fire north of his location, and he'd give me a =
call and let me know the status of the fire after he got there.
Somewheres around 2 o'clock friday afternoon I got the =
call on 2 mtrs from Bob, fire did not look all of that bad, was about 5 =
miles from his place, with a light wind blowing to the north, meaning =
away from his place, it was also several ridges over, on the other side =
of Lake Billy Chinook, and on the Indian reservation, we could see no =
problem, as have been over there with them closer than that. So the =
contest was on, I'd get off of work, pick up my youngest son, pack the =
truck and make the 2-1/2 hr 129 mile drive from Gresham Ore to three =
rivers. It should be a good time, and we would get a chance to check out =
all of the antenna
work that we had done a few months ago. I also got ahold of my dx-ped =
partner, Craig, AH8DX/W7, and let him know the contest was on, and that =
we would be heading over to Bob's place, and he was more than welcome to =
come over and use my station for the test.=20
To those of you who have worked W7GG,AI7B or WW7OR over =
the years and have wondered about his big signal, let me give a little =
run down on his contest QTH, Three Rivers is a gated community, way out =
in the "pucker brush" (literally) in the high desert of central Oregon, =
about 25 miles west of a small town called Culver, basically a vacation =
resort, with a few homes,mobile homes, trailer houses,etc, most people =
come over for the weekend, with a few living there all year roung, =
there is no running water, no commercial power, (nearest commercial =
power is about 20 miles away) no flushing toilets, except the ones you =
make for yourself ! etc. etc. water is bought and stored on site, =
electric power at W7GG's place is either solar,wind mills,diesel or =
propane powered generators, towers and antenna's are many, 190 ft. =
rotating tower with 2 stacked full sized 3 element 40 mtr beams, stacked =
kt34xa's, 80 and 160 mtr wire 4 squares, 165 ft tower with stacked =
mono-band yagis for 20,15 and 10 mtrs, 125 ft tower with several other =
yagis, 100 ft. tower with another tribander, windmills, solar paners, =
etc. on it, that covers most of the antennas, He has this all situated =
on about 5 acres, and it is a very nice place to retire to on a weekend =
and play radio, so when you hear W7GG on the air handing out Q's, it is =
at great expense to Bob.
So, it was up over Mt Hood, and into central Oregon for =
what I hoped would be an uneventful drive, but my youngest son was =
driving, and anything could happen!!! ( it didn't, he did a good job on =
the way over) By the time we came up out of Warm Springs and onto the =
flats into Madras, the sun was going down over the mountains, and we got =
a good look at the small forest fire
off in the distance, smoke was drifting to the north, which was good, as =
we were going to be south of it. So It was on into Madras, follow the =
signs to Lake Billy Chinook, and keep my eyes on the fire.=20
=20
By the time we got to the top of the canyon road that =
drops you down into Lake Billy Chinook it was dark, and that little =
bitty forest fire was looking a little on the menancing side, we were =
still about 20 miles away, so down into the canyon we went, over two =
very, very narrow suspension bridges and climbed up out of the canyon, =
once on top, we got our first real look at that little bitty forest =
fire, it was no longer just menancing looking, it was damn scary =
looking, and we were headed right for it !=20
I called bob on 2 mtrs and tried to describe what I was seeing, he =
sounded a little concerned, and said that it was still 4 to 5 miles =
north west of him, with a very mild breeze blowing to the north away =
from him, so it should still be no problem, I said we'd be there soon, =
and signed off, It was about then that I noticed that my normally lead =
footed 15 yr old son was looking out the windshield at the fire in front =
of us,mouth open, and eyes opened even wider ! and going very slow ! ! =
I knew he was just as stunned as I was, I just looked at him and said, =
I dont think were going to be doing much contesting this weekend, were =
probally going to Bob's place and packing the truck's up and getting =
the heck out of there. I don't think in the fifteen years that I have =
been lucky enough to have Jordan as my son, that I have ever seen him =
agree more quickly to anything I have ever said !=20
By the time we got to the main gate to pick up a pass to =
go onto Three Rivers property, the normally empty parking lot was full =
of fire trucks, heavy earth moving equipment, fire fighters, etc., and =
the fire was a site to behold, the entire night sky to the northwest of =
where I was standing had the most sureal, eerie orange "glow" that I =
have ever seen
I went in to get a pass, came back out, stood in awe, and looked at the =
fire in the sky, made a few choice four letter "observations", and was =
already planning in my mind what I could pack in my little truck and how =
I could get it in, just in case they gave the word to evacuate.
Made the mile or so drive from the main gate to Bobs place =
and pulled into his property, Meet Bob outside, parked the truck and we =
sat on the outside deck and made plans of what we should do if we had to =
leave in a hurry, all the while looking to the northwest at the "orange =
glow" coming over the top of the tree's.=20
By now, there was no breeze, some cloud cover, and we could smell no =
"smoke"
that was about 10:00 o'clock in the evening,=20
by 11:00 we decided to try and get some sleep, only problem was, it was =
too hot to sleep in the house, and it was still 94 degrees outside !!!! =
So for Jordan and me, It was make a bed out on the deck and try and =
sleep in just shorts ! by midnight I knew it was going to be a long =
hot,semi sleepless night ! and what was worse, was that every little =
breeze that came along, I found myself trying to determine what =
direction, north, south,east,west, is there smoke on that breeze, can I =
hear the tell tale sounds of burning trees, and on and on, and then =
there was that eerie "orange" glow from the fire, it was reflecting off =
of the cloud cover and everything I could see had an "orange" glow to =
it, trees, grass, house, towers,antennas, gravel, etc, literally =
everything ! was very un-nerving ! At one point Jordan got up, had a =
white t-shirt on, walked by me, and he was even "glowing orange" !!!! =20
It was somewhere's around 3 o'clock in the morning that I noticed that =
the "glow" was no longer around, got up, looked to the northwest, and =
could no longer see much of anything, no smoke rising, no orange glow, =
laid back down and finally fell asleep with the thoughts that the fire =
was dying out, and the firefighters had it under control, I felt much =
better, and actually got about 3 hours worth of sleep !=20
bob was up at 4:30, ready to start the test at 5:00, =
he started out on 40 c.w. with JA5ING/1 first in the log at 5:06 a.m. =
local time. By the time I got up with several cups of coffe in me to try =
and shake off my restless night,and take a peek around the side of the =
house to check on the fire, ( hurray, looked like it was pretty much =
gone out ! ) there was 210 Q's in the log,=20
We traded seats and I started off of 20 mtr ssb, with N0NI first in the =
log at 7:57 a.m. local, made a total of 13 q's on 20 ssb and decided =
that was not the place to be, last q's on 20 that morning was W1AW/5 at =
8:25 a.m. local, bad rates !
15 mtrs sounded much, much better, with W6XR first in =
the log, europe was open and was answering my c.q.'s !=20
so for the next hour and a half or so, I ran and ran, watching the rate =
meter at times aproaching 185 q's, not bad, not bad at all for way out =
here in Oregon ! And then I had something happen to me that I have =
read about many times over the years, about 9:30 local time ( 14:30 utc) =
I was calling c.q. with the voice keyer, I heard something, stopped, and =
heard the tail end of a c.q. message, what I heard was, seven germany =
germany contest ! I had thought it a little odd for a split secound, =
and then realized that was my VOICE ! my first long delayed echo ??=20
Bob walked into the shack at about 10:00 a.m. local, =
looked at the rates I was having on 15 phone, and I could see by the =
look in his eye's ( plus the drool coming out of the side of his mouth =
!) that he wanted some of the action, I took a break and let Bob run =
some c.w. went into the kitchen, grabbed a cup of coffee, walked out =
the back door to check on the fire, and everything looked just fine ! =
no smoke, no clouds, no fire ! looked like we were gonna have a great =
time this weekend after all !
=20
by 11:00 a.m. local time, I looked out the south window of =
the shack and noticed that it was getting hard to see the big tower =
about 400 hundred feet away, and the smell of burning wood was =
starting to come into the shack ! I took one look at Bob, and he looked =
at me as I was putting down my drink, letting Bob know I was going to go =
and check things out.
Grabbed a set of binocoulrs on the way out of the house, =
headed over to the pole barn, grabbed a climbing belt and headed out to =
the small tower to the northwest of the property, up the tower I went =
and hooked on at about 60-70 ft., well above the tree line and took a =
peek, by then there was so much low lying smoke in all directions, it =
was hard to tell where it was coming from, but with a little bit of =
squinting, I could see that it was coming from the northwest, so far it =
looked like a smouldering camp fire, and from what I could see, was =
still about 4-5 miles away. Down the tower I went, into the shack and =
discussed what I had seen with Bob, we had heard nothing from the main =
gate about evacuation, so decided to to worry just yet.=20
By 11:45 a.m. local time we had looked out the window and =
noticed there was a slight breeze coming from the south, and had cleared =
out all of the smoke ! GREAT ! no clouds, no smoke, a slight breeze =
from the south, and the europeans were just booming in on 15 mtrs ! =
things were looking up ! it was also getting close to 90 degrees F. ! =
We traded off and I ran europe for about another hour or so, By 12:00 =
or so in the afternoon, the temperature in the shack was somewhere =
around 94 degrees, and that was with two box fans going, one 20 inch box =
fan was in the west window of the shack, and we both noticed at about =
the same time, that the fan was speeding up and slowing down, and it =
wasn't due to voltage variations from the diesel generator, Our slight =
southern breeze had changed directions and was now coming from the worst =
possiable direction, out of the northwest, and it was no longer a =
"slight breeze". =20
We traded off at 12:15 p.m. local, europe still booming =
in on 15 mtr c.w., I went to the kitchen to grab something cold to =
drink and find something to snack on and walked out the back door to =
check on the fire, by now I could see some smoke rising above the trees, =
but not coming at us, was starting to worry a little bit, as the wind =
was really starting to pick up, and it was really gettin hot ! it had to =
be somewheres over a hundred outside, with no humidity.
Went back into the shack at 1:15 p.m. to take over, =
noticed that the temp in the shack was getting close to 98 deg. F.
seen bob had changed to 20 c.w., so decided to try 20 phone and put in =
some much needed q's on that band, by 1:40 p.m. decided that 20 was not =
producing well, and went back to 15 phone for a little S&P, first in was =
TA3D at 1:49 p.m. local, did a little more S & P'ing, and found my first =
JA, JA4DPL at 1:52 p.m. local, now I decided it was time to reposition =
antenna's, turn the TB-6 to the U.S., turn the rotating tower with the =
stacked KT-34-XA's to JA land, and use WX0B's six pack box ( the fun =
switch) to switch between the fixed european stack, U.S. antenna and JA =
antenna's, now it was time to really rock and roll ! as I had the whole =
world to work, europe was still booming in, U.S. was booming in, a few =
south americans, and the J.A. and deep Russians were starting to roll !
At 2:00 p.m. local time, Craig, AH8DX\W7 checked in from =
my station in Gresham, we exchanged numbers and info, he asked how it =
was going, I had stated that we were starting to really worry about the =
fire to the north of use, and was not sure how much longer we might be =
here, by then, the box fan in the window was really howing, from my =
operating position, I could not see out the window very well, but from =
the way the fan was howling, I was expecting at any moment flames to be =
lapping around the corner ! we only had at that time, 614 q's in the =
log, it had been somewhat difficult to concentrate on the contest, and =
was getting harder and harder to concentrate on the contest. the =
temperature in the shack was now at 99.9 deg. F., and it was much hotter =
outside.
Another 22 minutes went by and I had put another 40 q's =
in the log, my son had showed up at my side, stating that he had been =
up at the front gate talking to a firefighter who had said that if you =
had and personal belongings, you had better start packing them and be =
prepared to get out. I had stopped and took a call on two meters from =
one of the other hams that live on the property, so far he had not heard =
anything from the front gate about evacuating. About that time, bob =
walked into the shack, we all sat and discussed what to do next, I =
thought that maybe the best thing to do for the time being, was to grab =
the binoculours and a climbing belt and go back up the little tower and =
take another peek at the fire. All agreed that this would give us some =
sort of go\no go. So out the door I went, over to the tower, and up I =
went. This particular tower I can only climb up on the north face of =
it, so at about the 65-70 ft level, I clipped on, grabbed for the =
binoculours, turned around, and damned near dropped the binocs !! this =
time I did not need them, as what I saw put a chill up my spine, and =
stood the hair up on the back of my neck !=20
What I was looking at, was no longer just a smoldering =
fire, it was a raging, wind whipped, out of control wild fire, with huge =
billowing clouds of smoke, what was worse, it was no longer 4-5 miles =
away, it was maybe 2, and heading southeast, pretty much right for use, =
what was even worse than that, was a fire had spread south of the main =
fire, and IT WAS heading for us !=20
by this time, the winds were whipped up to around 30 or so miles per =
hour.
=20
I have always thought it rather unusual as to some of =
the things I remember in times of stress like this, and it seemed rather =
odd to me, that standing up on that tower, watching this raging fire, =
and thinking about watching an interview several years ago of the =
commanding officer of Clark Air Force base in the Phillippines after the =
volcano there covered up the air base, A reporter had asked him what =
indication he had, as to when to evacuate, his answer was when he seen a =
young seargeant running by him, yelling, General, I hope you gots some =
Jam in your pocket, as were about to be "toast" ! then he knew it was =
time to leave !
and me, like the General, I sure wasn't much intrested in becoming =
"toast", so it was unclip myself from the tower, with Bob barreling out =
the back door of the house, saying we gots to GO ! and from 65 ft or so =
up, I don't think it took me 30 secounds before my feet hit the ground =
at a dead run for the house, now it was time to try and decide what to =
save.=20
It was now about 2:45 p.m. local, as we headed for =
the shack to try and save as much as possiable before the fire hit, we =
had maybe 2 hrs, 3 tops, I shut the computers off, noticed that we only =
had 661 q's in the log, with JA6FMR being the last one at 21:36 UTC. =
Bob, Jordan and I had a short conversation with what to start with, was =
easy, the most expensive equipment first, I started unplugging all of =
the 1000 mike papa's, Bob and Jordan started on all of the smaller =
radios, power supplies and brick amps, we started stacking things on =
the front porch, from there, next was the Titan amps and power supplies, =
next from there was the Henry amps, both little Henry, and big Henry, by =
then we had quit a pile stacked up on the front porch, the next thing to =
do was to back my little pickup up to the deck and start loading, mike =
papa's, titans,power supplies,bricks,smaller radios into the back of the =
truck, next was to try and get the big amps into the bed, and from =
there, start shoving anything else that we could into it. At one point I =
remember looking up at the temp gauge, 100.5 deg. F. no wonder the sweat =
was pouring out of use ! and that damn box fan in the window was still =
howling !
Don't ask me why, but for some reason or another, there =
was a surplus of unused cardboard boxes, and thank god there was, as we =
used every one of them shoving wallpaper,hard won contest plaques, =
family memories, stack match boxes,six pack boxes, relay boxes, filters, =
top ten boxes, four square boxes,monitors,computers, =
headphones,mics,footswitches,and anything else we could shove in them, =
and when we ran out of boxes, we found some plastic boxes full of linen, =
out went the linen, and in went the good stuff ! It was truly amazing, =
in about an hour and a half, we had that shack pretty much torn down to =
tables and chairs, and had pretty much gotten all of the equipment out, =
What was even more amazing was when I went out the back door to check on =
the progress of the fire, It was no longer "just" to the northwest of =
us, it was still spreading towards use, but was also traveling at a very =
high rate to the east, more or less parellel to us, and from what I =
could see, in the hour or so I had last checked on it, it looked like it =
had gone maybe 3 miles, with billowing smoke clouds that had to be =
reaching 25,000 plus feet, and streaching from just about as far as I =
could see to the west, to as far as I could see to the east, the sight =
of this made us move a little bit faster, as we still had plenty to try =
and load up.
It was now about 4:15, and we had more to try and load, =
we started loading motorcycles into Bob's truck, got them tied down, =
hitched up his boat, and proceded to shove as much stuff as we could =
into his boat, and front of his Truck.
another 45 minutes or so had passed, and we had pretty much decided that =
we had all we were gonna get, my poor ole truck was so loaded, that it =
was pretty much draggin the rear bumper, and the tires were just about =
half flat, was gonna be a long slow ride home. Bob's truck was just =
about the same, don't think we could have shoved to much more into it =
either !
It was now a little after 5:00 p.m. and was time to leave, we took =
another look at the fire, it had grown even more, and looked as if it =
had traveled another 2 miles east, and now the smoke cloud was reminding =
me of what MT. ST. Helens looked like when it blew its top 20 some odd =
years ago, not a pretty site !
As we were getting ready to leave, Jordan came up to me, =
and with some pretty red and wet eyes, made the statement that this was =
just about the saddest day of his life, and I could not help but think =
he was probally right, as for the last five years this has been our =
radio contesting home, as Bob and his wife Laverna have been gracious =
hosts to my two boys and I, we have gone there and played radio so many =
times in the last five years that the contests are becoming a blurr, we =
have had nothing but great times and great memories at the Three Rivers =
Contest Club, to think that it could be over with and that the next time =
that we see the place, it could be nothing more than "toast" it was just =
a little to mind numbing. About all I could do was give him a hug, let =
him know that there was nothing we could do at the moment, and just hope =
for the best. it was time to go.
Here I am writing this late sunday evening, and still no =
word on what if anything has happened to W7GG'S place, they are not =
letting anybody in, and the news reports don't look all of that good, =
fire is still spreading.
for those of you that would like to send a kind word of two to Bob, =
here's his e-mail address:
bob.wrubble@verizon.net
vy 73...... Ken....... K7ZUM........ FS/K7ZUM........ PJ7/K7ZUM =20
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