Campo Lake Morena Disaster Preparedness

The Community Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is located in the Campo Fire and Rescue Station 86 in downtown Campo California. This communications center is the focal point for community emergency and disaster communications and support in the Campo / Lake Morena area and, if required, anywhere in East San Diego County. Manned by local Amateur Radio Operators and CERT Team Members, the Center currently has the ability to communicate within and outside of the area on the Amateur Radio 80 and 20 Meter HF Bands, and the 144Mhz, 220Mhz and 440Mhz Amateur bands. Additionally the San Diego County Office of Emergency Services (OES) has provided us with Regional Communications System (RCS) 800 MHz public service radios. The Center also has portable radios capable of communications on the Family Service Radio (FRS) and "Red Dot" VHF frequencies. (Follow this link to view our area radio and frequency plans.) A laptop computer and printer provides Topo mapping information to coordinate our responses, Internet access to the World Wide Web, and the San Diego County Emergency Operations Center. Internet access is provided by the Departments wireless high speed Internet system or phone modem backup. The entire room and all equipment is powered by 12 volt gel cell batteries totaling 400 amp hours.

Left to right. FRS portables. 800 MHz Public Service portable charger and base station. Kenwood TS-130S Amateur HF Transceiver connected to an inverted V dipole for the 80 and 20 Meter bands. If you are a HAM or short wave listener listen for us on Monday nights, 8 PM local time, on 3.960 MHz. This frequency is the Amateur Radio statewide emergency communications NET. Monday evenings all the California County EOC's check in with the State Office of Emergency Services EOC in Sacramento.

Left to right. Corner shelf, FRS and Bendix King VHF public service portable radios. Manuals for all radios and radiation detector. Radio shelf above the desk. Phone / FAX Modem lines, Portable and base scanners. Mounted under shelf. Amateur 450MHz, FRS base station, Amateur 144Mhz and 220MHz radios. Behind the desk is an Anderson Power Pole, DC distribution panel powered by 4ea, 200AH gel cells in series/parallel, charged by a Lambda 65 Amp switching Power Supply.

The dipole is a home made 80 / 20 meter. Full 1/4 wave 20 and loaded 80 tuned to the top of the voice band where most nationwide emergency channels are located. Just to the right of the center support mast of the dipole is our 145/440 Diamond base antenna.

Left to right. 220, MFJ Dicsone, departments 800 and wireless Internet antennas.
For further information or to join our merry band contact

November 9, 2004
Larry Johnson presents the Campo Lake Morena
Community Protection/Evacuation Plan Annex to
Herman Reddick of the San Diego County OES

Campo / Lake Morena has completed it's Annex to the San Diego County, Community Protection / Evacuation Plan. A condensed version of the Annex is available on this webpage below. Please download and print the Annex and Forms and put a copy in your 3 Day Kits. ( Don't know what a 3 Day Kit is? Click Here ) This Annex contains emergency information and resources specific to the Campo / Lake Morena area plus general information and forms on disaster preparedness.

Disaster Preparedness Resource Guide

The Resource Guide below is a web version of our printed guide. Fill out and keep this guide handy for it's emergency resources and information. Keep one in your home and one in every vehicle.

We are always updating our Disaster Preparedness Resource Guide. If you know of an agency that needs to be added to the list or are a member of a listed agency where the provided information needs updating please contact Craig Williams at 619-806-4146, or e-mail to

Be Prepared

The recent disastrous fires in San Diego County have shown us you cannot be over prepared for disaster. Click on the links below for safety guidelines and to do hints before and during a disaster or emergency. ( This information has been gathered from various sources and is provided as a guide only. )

Local Agencies in an Emergency

San Diego Sheriff
Campo Substation
378 Sheraton Rd. Campo, CA 92006
(619) 478-5378
FAX (619)478-9076

Border Patrol
Campo Station (East of Buckman Springs Road) (619) 557-6144
El Cajon (West of Buckman Springs Road) (619) 258-4200
Boulevard Station (619) 766-4542
Border Patrol dispatch number: (800) 808-8727

Community Communications

( Click this link to open this section in a new window for easy printing )

We learned during the massive wildfires of 2003 that normal communications systems are prone to failure. Here in Campo valley we lost our power for 6 days as the main transmission lines were lost. Telephone and cellular communications were on and off during the same period.

Telephones. The AT&T land line phone system is battery powered and usually works quite well during a power failure if you have an old style, hard line telephone. The new wireless handset phones plug into a wall outlet and are worthless in a blackout. Find a hard wire phone for your disaster kit, one that plugs into your wall jack and is wired directly to a handset with a dial pad.

2-way Radio. I would bet every family, especially ones with children, has at least 1 FRS radio. Advertised with a 2 to 30 mile range these "walkie talkies" will usually travel 2 miles if you are out in the open. Here in the Mountain Empire (Far East San Diego County) the Campo Fire Department and the Mountain Empire CERT has designated FRS Channel 1 as our monitored FRS frequency in an emergency. Use this channel to contact your local community volunteers for information and assistance during disasters. Remember, if your phone is working and you have an immediate emergency Call 9-1-1. Our FRS network is not an official communications system but a way for community members and volunteers to communicate in a emergency with equipment we have on hand.

Scanners. In the Mountain Empire Area fire and law enforcement agencies are dispatched on multiple frequencies and bands. For a list of these frequencies and information on equipment required to monitor these agencies in an emergency follow this link.

Amateur ( HAM ) Radio. San Diego County and the Mountain Empire Area are well covered by Amateur Radio Systems and operators. The San Diego County Mountain Empire Bioterrorism and Disaster Defense Team and local area CERT Teams have representatives from the San Diego County Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) group. The San Diego County RACES group is based in the County Communications Center / Emergency Command Center in Kearny Mesa. For more information on RACES follow this link to their website.

If you are an Amateur Radio Operator you are encouraged to contact us and become a part of our local Disaster Preparedness Plan. If you are interested or wish further information on our local Amateur Radio activities please call Craig Williams, W6CAW, at 619-478-2505,

. Also, you can usually find us at 7 and 9 AM, on the local SANDRA VHF Repeater. ( 146.640, minus offset, 107.2 PL )

During a local or area-wide emergency the Campo / Lake Morena Disaster Committee and our local CERT Teams will use the following radio frequencies for in and out of area communications. Amateur frequencies will be manned by licensed operators.

Also, see our Acronyms and Emergency Definitions page.

Communications at Local Sites – Campo Fire Station EOC - Community Center - Flying A Ranch - Other as Required
FRS Channel #1. Family Service portable radios (W/T)
Red Dot "Jobcom" low power W/T, 151.625 MHz
Amateur Radio National Simplex, 146.520 MHz

Between Sites - Between any staging location as in above
FRS Channel #1. Family Service portable radios (W/T)
Amateur Radio, National Simplex, 146.520 MHz, 80 Meters 3.960 MHz.
"Red Dot" low power VHF, 151.625 MHz.

Repeater Location, Owner	Receive	Transmit	Offset	Direction	PL Tone	Assignment
2 Meter Simplex	146.520	146.520		Simplex	-------	Local short range
Otay Mt. SANDRA	146.640	146.040	600 kHz	Minus	107.2	Secondary Net control
Lyons Peak SANDRA	146.265	146.865	600 kHz	Plus	107.2	Primary HAM Net Control
Hi Pass (Boulevard) SANDRA	145.280	144.680	600 kHz	Minus	107.2	Secondary Campo Area
White Star (Boulevard) RACES GOLD1	448.780	443.780	5.00 MHz	Minus	131.8	Backup Races if available
RACES RED 1 Voted System	147.195					RACES 1 Primary
ARR G-7 Repeater, Los Pinos	155.715					ARR Primary
ARR G-1 Simplex	154.540					ARR Simplex

Community Radio Frequencies	Receive	Transmit	AKA		PL Tone
Red Dot "Jobcom" low power W/T	151.625	151.625	Red Dot		None	Local Site and Site to Site
Family Service Radio (FRS) W/T Channel 1	462.5625	462.5625	Channel 1		None	Local Site and Site to Site

Emergency Nets

3.905 Mhz 09:00 Hrs SD ARES Sunday RACES ARES

3.933 Imperial RACES Sunday 08:30 RACES ARES

3.945 Mhz 08:30 Hrs Riverside RACES Sunday RACES ARES

3.960 SD RACES EOC STATE OES Monday 20:00 Net Primary SD HF Emergency Frequency

3.965 09:00 Hrs Orange Co. ARES Sunday RACES ARES

3.990 AZ RACES NET Sun. 07:30 MT RACES ARES

7.233 Mhz 09:00 Hrs SD ARES Sunday RACES ARES

7.2500 Cal. EMCOMM Net 8:30 AM RACES ARES

3.9100 Skywarn Primary Night Skywarn

3.9500 Skywarn Tertiary Night Skywarn

3.9650 Skywarn Secondary Night Skywarn

7.2400 Skywarn Primary Day Skywarn

7.2650 Skywarn Secondary Day Skywarn

7.2850 Skywarn Tertiary Day Skywarn

Emergency Center of Activity Frequencies
International frequencies to listen for emergency communications.
Move off frequency after initial contact.

15m - 21,360 kHz
17m - 18,160 kHz
20m - 14,300 kHz
40m - 7,060 kHz
80m - 3,760 kHz

Unified San Diego County, Emergency Services Organization
Operational Area Emergency Plans

FireWise is an interactive, flexible, graphical tool designed to help residents make fire safety choices while considering ways to enhance beauty, retain native vegetation, ensure privacy, conserve water, and save energy. Follow this link to the USDA FireWise site and determine how fire safe your property is.

The Campo / Lake Morena Disaster Preparedness Committee meets the second Thursday of every month at 7:00 PM.
NEW MEETING LOCATION, Lake Morena Community Church, on the corner of
Oak Drive and Molchan Road in the Community of Lake Morena.
The public is welcomed and urged to attend. Contact Craig Williams at
619-478-2505 or

Community Disaster Preparedness Resources

Disaster Preparedness Resource Guide

Be Prepared

Local Agencies in an Emergency

Community Communications

Unified San Diego County, Emergency Services Organization Operational Area Emergency Plans

Unified San Diego County, Emergency Services Organization
Operational Area Emergency Plans