Serving Los Altos by helping to recruit, train, and maintain a crew of amateur radio operators ready to provide emergency communication services in a time of need.
Simply put, we are an interested group of citizens who want to help the city when needed. Our backgrounds very immensely - some of us have an extensive background in electronics, some of us are computer programmers, others have backgrounds as doctors, and business managers. Many excel in running their own household. We are like you - we want to help our community.
To keep our skills fresh, we volunteer our time at may public service events such as parades and fun runs. We also hold our own drills as well as participating in drills and events that are put on at the county level. Since we are all volunteers, we do what we can, when we can.
After a major event we will provide communications support to the following:
City of Los Altos
We will deploy a number of hams to the City's Emergency Operation Center (EOC) to help with communications as needed.
Los Altos BAT Program
After a major event LAARES members will deploy Emergency Information Reporting Sites (EIRS) at key locations throughout the city. These sites will transmit damage assessment information gathered by local BATs, to the city's Emergency Operations Center (EOC). More information on the Los Altos BAT program can be found at www.losaltosbat.org
Los Altos High School and Los Altos School District
Hams will be deployed to key school sites in Los Altos - Los Altos High School and the grade school district office. Both the high school and grade school district have their own emergency plans, so the hams at these sites will keep the city up-to-date as to the status of each site.
Non-emergency Assistance
We are routinely asked to help at the following events:
* New Year's Day Fun Run
* Pet Parade
* Art & Wine Festival
* Fall Festival
* Festival of Lights Parade
We also participate in various drills and events put on by the County ham organization.