In parts of the United States where there is not always a robust communications network, repeaters are especially important for emergency response. Oklahoma’s five-county area, in the south, lost theirs recently to a “controlled burn” held routinely on ranch land except….it got out of control. (Sadly they had no insurance).

Fire has destroyed the W5BLW repeater in southern Oklahoma, taking down a critically important resource for SKYWARN, the Red Cross and local emergency operations in five counties of the region. According to Vance Smith, KE5BAL, of the Ardmore Amateur Radio Club, it will be a slow road back for the repeater, which stood for more than 16 years.

Vance stated repeater was consumed by a controlled burn that went the wrong way on the private ranch property where the repeater stood. By the time the damage was noticed on the mountaintop, it was too late.

Now the scrambling - and the hard work - begins so that emergency communications can resume when needed.

Vance said he has an old repeater that can be put up temporarily on another site but it will be a while before a full power repeater will be back in action at the site on top of Arbuckle Mountain.

The Ardmore Amateur Radio Club repeater bears the name and callsign of Ardmore club member Charles M. Dibrell who became a Silent Key in 1998. He had been a licensed ham since 1929.