new rule on NIFC radio channels

https://forums.wildfireintel.org/t/nifc-communications/23769/52

this is an interesting discussion

to review - the NIFC channels are basically 10 vhf repeater pairs and
maybe 8 tac channels - vhf highband - 170 mhz ish - in theory they are
held in reserve until a really large wildfire breaks out - then some
portable repeaters on the NIFC channels are rushed to the scene and
put into operation

the reason this is necessary is because most federal wildfire agencies
just have 1 repeater channel covering each area - and typically they
are shared on 5 to 10 repeaters in the same zone or national forest -
so any large fire that breaks out immediately overwhelms the existing
radio system - and it is necessary to rush temporary repeaters to the
scene

keep in mind we are talking about the most desolate areas of the USA -
there are no cellphones to use - there are no state or local
government channels to use - there are no private radio channels to
use - it costs alot to put a repeater on a mountain top and keep it in
service 365 days a year - so there are not alot of spare repeaters
sitting around on mountain tops just waiting for someone to use them

Another way to look at this is - what would the radio scheme be if
there was just 1 fire agency in the USA? - what would the radio scheme
be if there were 2 fire agencies in the USA (wildfire and structural)
- what if there were just 50 FDs in the USA (1 per state) - what if
there was just 1 FD per county? What would the radio system look like
in those cases?

Yet another way to look at this is - what would the radio system look
like if money was no object? there would be a repeater on top of every
tree!

most wildfires nowadays see an initial attack by ground and air units
- from federal, state, local, and private agencies - maybe all radio
system should be rethought with this simple axiom in mind