ARES Intro

Welcome to the Clark County ARES Web Site

Welcome to the Clark County Washington ARES web site. This web site provides our Clark County ARES members with up to date information, schedules and forms. Our organizational structure considers the potential needs for supporting intra- and extra-organization communications both within Clark County and with adjacent counties during emergency situations. We provide communications to supplement your existing communications links or provide replacement links should primary links fail. We work closely with CRESA (Clark Regional Emergency Service Agency) to provide emergency communications for their participating members.

If your organization would like to enter into a Support Agreement with ARES, please use the Support Agreement request email found under the Contact Us menu on this web site. Our management would be happy to talk to you and understand your potential communications needs and provide more of an insight into how our service can help in time of need.

Introduction to ARES

Clark County ARES is a volunteer organization of FCC licensed Amateur Radio operators whose major purpose is to provide county-wide emergency communications. In Clark County, the ARES organization is a dual organization. It can operate as Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), sponsored by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL); or it can operate as Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES), which is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under Federal Communication Commission (FCC) rules (Part 97, Subpart E, Section 97.407 ). Which role the organization takes depends upon the particular emergency or disaster situation as follows:

ARES provides emergency communications for non-governmental organizations (public and private) and local governmental agencies in times of “non-declared” emergencies or disasters. Operation is governed by this ARES plan, which is interfaced with the Clark County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan and the Washington State RACES Plan. A secondary purpose of ARES is to provide non-emergency, public service, communications for county agencies or other qualified organizations at the discretion of ARES officers.

Purpose

The purpose of this plan is to provide guidance, establish responsibility, and ensure coordinated operations between Clark County Emergency Management officials and the ARES organization during times when there are extraordinary threats to the safety of life and/or property. Maximum benefits from the ARES organization can be obtained only through careful planning which identifies the organizations, agencies, and individuals concerned and assigns a definitive role to each. This plan enables agencies and organizations having emergency responsibilities to include the ARES organization in local emergency plans and programs.

Organization

The Clark County ARES organization consists of a management team, six geographical teams, and several special-function teams as needed.

Management Team (Team 0)

  1. Emergency Coordinator (EC). The Emergency Coordinator (for ARES) and hereafter simply called the Emergency Coordinator (EC), coordinates the overall program of the organization.
  2. Assistant Emergency Coordinator for Operations (AEC – Operations) provides overall coordination of the Net Control Team (Team 7) and establishes a Coordination Net for training exercises and missions.
  3. Assistant Emergency Coordinator for Administration (AEC – Administration) coordinates the recruitment of new members; keeps a record of all meetings, exercises and missions; maintains a database of membership and issues ARES ID badges.
  4. Assistant Emergency Coordinator for Liaison (AEC – Liaison) acts as liaison with government and emergency service agencies.
  5. Assistant Emergency Coordinator for Logistics (AEC – Logistics) provides logistical and technical support to all teams in the areas of radio equipment, packet equipment, computers, antennas, power supplies, propagation and frequency planning.


Geographical Teams

  1. North County (Team 1)
  2. East County (Team 2)
  3. Orchards/Cascade Park (Team 3)
  4. Vancouver (Team 5)
  5. Hazel Dell (Team 6)


Specialized Teams

  1. SW Medical Center (Team 8)
  2. County Emergency Coordination Center (ECC) (Team 9)
  3. Red Cross (Team 10)
  4. Search And Rescue (Team 11)
  5. Legacy Salmon Creek MC (Team 12)

Membership

Membership in Clark County ARES is by application to the Emergency Coordinator (EC). Applicant must complete both a county “Volunteer Emergency Worker Registration Form” and a Clark County ARES “Registration/Update Form” and therefore be registered in ARES. See our Joining ARES page.

Upon approval by the Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency (CRESA), the applicant will be issued an Emergency Worker Registration number and ID badge. Upon approval by the Emergency Coordinator (EC), a Clark County ARES ID badge will be issued for working as ARES. The CRESA ID badge will be required when working for governmental agencies. The ARES ID badge will be required when working with other public and private service agencies. Some agencies may require a separate badge and/or registration when in their facilities. Other agencies, such as the Red Cross, will accept the ARES ID badge in lieu of their Red Cross ID.

Note: All applicants are subject to a background check conducted by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.