Amateur radio repeater KA7ZAU became a victim of a raging wildfire that consumed much of the region near Reno, Nevada last month. The 2-metre repeater provides important connections for hams checking into the weekly Weather Net for SKYWARN and it is a link between amateur radio and the Red Cross.

Hams were still evaluating the repeater recently when they updated Newsline through email. Greg Krantz, NT7Q, a director of the Sierra Nevada Amateur Radio Society, said that the building itself suffered no damage but it appeared that the radiant heat burned the feedline leading to the antennas. The hams were still needing to inspect the equipment to see if anything there was damaged.

He told Newsline that the plan was to make repairs and get the site back on the air by Labor Day weekend if the local utility, Nevada Energy, restores power to the building.

The repeater's owner, Arlan Duwayne Robinson KA7ZAU, said that the Hawk Fire had knocked a number of repeaters off the air when the blaze began, affecting both amateur and commercial communications across the region for VHF and UHF analog, P25 digital, the Fusion system and 900 MHz systems. He said that the 2-metre and 220-MHz repeater that serves Reno, Sparks and the surrounding area have been on the air for 16 years and operate to support ARES, SKYWARN and numerous events. Arlan is also the Washoe County emergency coordinator for ARES.

He said: [quote] "It will take time to replace damaged equipment and install new feedlines. The work will help restore coverage, improve reliability, and return systems to full operational status as quickly as possible." [endquote]