Bulletins & Announcements

Get a jump on home defense at the FireWise Calaveras Festival!

• When: Saturday, November 1st, 2025
• Where: Angels Camp Fairgrounds, 2465 Gun Club Road, Angels Camp, CA
• Contact: firewise@calaverasRCD.org for exhibitor/vendor information

Key Highlights

The festival will feature:

• Demonstrations on fire safety techniques
• Exhibits showcasing emergency preparedness
• Information tables with resources
• Insurance information and guidance
• Kids’ activities for the whole family

This free event is hosted by Calaveras County Resource Conservation District. Learn more at www.calaverasRCD.org/firewise.

This is an excellent opportunity to learn about wildfire preparedness and connect with emergency preparedness resources in our community.

The TCU September Lightning Complex follow-up meeting has revealed important insights for emergency preparedness.

EPPOC hosted OES Director Eric at their October 1st meeting. Although traditional communications remained operational during the fires, and our net was consequently only partially activated, the crisis exposed the need for improved data to assure safe evacuations along Highway 4.

Key Takeaways

The meeting highlighted critical gaps in evacuation planning and the importance of reliable communication systems during emergency events.

We highly encourage ERSN members to listen to EPPOC’s ZOOM replay to better understand the challenges and improvements needed for future emergency response.

Action Items

• Review evacuation routes and communication protocols
• Consider additional data collection methods for Highway 4 corridor
• Continue improving coordination between agencies and volunteer networks

Thank you ERSN member Martha for interviewing ERSN Co-Founder Kirt on your community safety program, September 15th.

• Program: Be Prepared, Calaveras
• Replay: Watch on YouTube

Jay’s practice net on the Forest Meadows Repeater has moved to a new day and time.

• Previous Schedule: Wednesday 7:30 PM
• New Schedule: Monday 7:00 PM
• Location: Forest Meadows Repeater
• Contact: ersnnets@gmail.com for more info

This change is effective immediately. Many ERSN members up in Arnold may have access to this repeater. We are excited to hear from you! Please message us if you would like to be added to Jay’s roll call.

Great to see everyone who came to the Meshtastic meetup at Pine Brook HOA. The presentation deck is available online for anyone who wants to review the material.

It was especially exciting to connect ERSN with TCARES and explore the potential to establish a Motherlode Mesh network across our region.

Resources Shared

Here are the key resources from the meetup:

• Mesh Monitor - Live monitor that watches MQTT traffic from nodes connected to our Motherlode topic
• ERSN Mesh Overview - Working group overview and instructions for joining our channels (will be updated soon)
• Getting Started With Meshtastic - YouTube video perfect for sharing with newcomers to Meshtastic technology

Next Steps

Primary Focus: Demonstrating Off-Grid Communications

Our main goal is to demonstrate consistent off-grid communications within the Ebbetts Pass area and potentially across the Motherlode counties.

• Solar Node Deployment: Procuring solar-powered nodes for installation at Rocky Ridge, Summit, and Red Hill using repeater configurations
• Target Timeline: Aiming for deployment during the 4th of July weekend

Secondary Focus: Emergency Services Connection

Building communication infrastructure to connect beyond our local community to emergency services like San Andreas.

• WinLink Research: Exploring WinLink 2000 integration and potential Meshtastic-based solutions
• Custom Solutions: Investigating what we might need to build ourselves

Future Considerations

Looking ahead, we discussed several potential initiatives to strengthen our emergency preparedness:

• ICS Training: Classes on Incident Command System and developing plans for how ERSN fits into the broader disaster response ecosystem
• Regular Training: Establishing training days and drills to help with onboarding new technologies and building operational readiness

The meetup was a great success in bringing together our community and identifying concrete steps forward. Stay tuned for updates on our progress with the solar node deployments and mesh expansion efforts.

ERSN member Jay will be hosting a 7:30 practice net on Wednesdays for our Forest Meadows Repeater. Many ERSN members up in Arnold may have access also. We are excited to hear from you! Please message us if you would like to be added to Jay’s roll call this Wednesday, June 4th.

Join us for a meetup at Pine Brook HOA for everyone interested in learning more about Meshtastic technology.

• When: June 14th, 10 am - noon
• Where: 2108 Flanders Drive, Arnold, CA

• When: Saturday, May 31st, noon - 5 pm
• Where: Bret Harte Theatre, Angels Camp

• When: Saturday, May 3rd, 9 a.m. - noon
• Where: Independence Hall

ERSN has been invited to participate a second year running and will be raffling off a pair of radios.

This is a great opportunity to introduce friends and family to ERSN and elevate your fire safety skills.

An exciting development in April was the formation of a tech committee for ERSN. Dan, who created and manages our ERSN website, has graciously volunteered to serve as Chair.

First Project

Their first project is strengthening our network functionality via Meshtastic texting technology.

Get Involved

Please review the information posted under the resources tab on our ERSN website and email us if you are interested in learning more. Please type “MESH” in the subject line.

Thank you, everyone, who attended our April 12th Spring Meet-up at Pinebrook HOA. Special thanks to Kirt and Colleen for hosting!

• When: Wednesday, February 26th
• Where: Greenhorn
• Speakers: Fire Chief John and Eric from the Calaveras Office of Emergency Services

Verizon was down for up to five days for multiple Arnold residents this past week. This highlights the importance of having backup communication methods during emergencies.

Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone this month impacted by the devastating Santa Ana-fueled Southern California fires. Difficulties obtaining accurate information in a timely manner underscored how critical your participation in ERSN is to saving lives. Thank you for being part of our emergency communication network!

Barbecue/Potluck a Blazing Success! Saturday, Sept 27th. Fabulous food and friendship, thanks to all who attended!

Special thanks to Golden Pines RV Resort Owners Ben and Kayla for hosting us at your lovely Lodge, and Jay for smoking and grilling tri-tip and ribs.