Ham radio operators help out in fire crisis - Chico Enterprise Record

Ham radio operators help out in fire crisis - Chico Enterprise Record: "OROVILLE — One of the local groups that has pitched in to help throughout the recent wildfires in Northern California is the Oroville Amateur Radio Society.

The group is composed of 'ham' radio operators licensed to transmit at high frequencies, said president Larry Thompson.

Radios have been set up in the basement of the society's station, where unpaid amateurs communicate with the Red Cross, Salvation Army and other agencies to transmit information 24 hours a day.

Most society members belong to the American Radio Relay League, which was established by the federal government a 'long, long time ago,' Thompson said.

In World War II, people in occupied countries used amateur radios to communicate with the outside world.

'That's how the amateur-radio emergency thing started,' he said. 'Communicating on frequencies that nobody else would be on.'"

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