In the Australian state of Victoria, Amateur Radio operators have been activated to provide communications links into towns that have had their normal communications destroyed by the bushfires that have decimated the state. Members of the Wireless Institute Civil Emergency Network in Victoria (WICEN (Vic)) -- Australia's version of ARES® -- were activated on February 8, with members being deployed to areas with loss of power and other facilities.
According to the Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) -- that country's IARU Member-Society -- authorities and resources in Victoria have been "stretched to the limit." WICEN has been on high alert since the fires started on January 28. On February 11, WICEN (Vic) Secretary Mark Dods, VK3XMU, said, "It now appears that WICEN's role in this emergency is going to be a long hard marathon over an extended period."
