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US Forest Service - Pike National Forest (CO)

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The Pike National Forest encompasses approximately 1.2 million acres spread across Park, Jefferson, Douglas, Teller, and El Paso Counties in central Colorado. Because of its close proximity to both Denver and Colorado Springs, the Pike National Forest is one of the busiest forests in the region, boasting an annual visitation average of nearly 2.5 million people. The South Platte Ranger District is responsible for 450,000 acres of the Pike National Forest, covering the entirety of southern Jefferson County, western Park County, and western Douglas County. Two other Ranger Districts manage the forest, Pikes Peak to the south, covering the portions of the forest in Teller and El Paso Counties, and the South Park Ranger District, covering the remaining portions of the forest which ring Park County. The Pike National Forest is managed jointly with the San Isabel National Forest and the Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands.


pike_nat_forest_vicinity_map.jpg


Radio Frequencies

The Pike National Forest is managed jointly with the San Isabel National Forest and the Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands. Unlike the unified Arapahoe, Roosevelt, Pawnee radio system to the north, geographic disparities keep the operations of the PSICC radio systems separate, with each management unit operating their own net.


Dispatching and resource tracking on the Pike National Forest is handled by the Pueblo Interagency Dispatch Center.


Pike National Forest Repeater Network (Pike Net)

  • Frequencies changed in July 2016 to comply with NTIA directive to move repeater outputs to frequencies between 169.5125 and 173.9875.
  • "Tone #" refers to the National Standard Tone Numbering System used by the USFS, BLM, and other land management agencies and is only applicable to TX tones.
CH TONE # RX FREQ RX TONE TX FREQ TX TONE Description Ranger District County Confirmation
"Local" (Direct) 1 171.1375 110.9 171.1375 110.9 Forest-wide Simplex/Direct (All) (All) 2022.07
North Twin Cone 2 171.1375 110.9 164.9875 123.0 North Twin Cone Peak Repeater S Platte / S Park Park
Russell Ridge 3 171.1375 110.9 164.9875 131.8 Russell Ridge (Indian Creek) Repeater S Platte Jefferson 2022.07
Mount Evans 4 171.1375 110.9 164.9875 136.5 Mount Evans Repeater S Platte Clear Creek 2022.07
Longwater Gulch 5 171.1375 110.9 164.9875 146.2 Longwater Gulch (Green Mountain) Repeater S Platte / S Park / Pikes Peak Douglas 2022.07
Devils Head 6 171.1375 110.9 164.9875 156.7 Devil's Head Repeater S Platte Douglas 2022.07
Almagre 7 171.1375 110.9 164.9875 167.9 Almagre Mountain Repeater Pikes Peak Teller 2022.07
Stanley 8 171.1375 110.9 164.9875 103.5 Stanley Canyon Repeater Pikes Peak El Paso
Cheyenne Creek 9 171.1375 110.9 164.9875 100.0 Cheyenne Creek (Mount Rosa) Repeater Pikes Peak El Paso
Lake George 10 171.1375 110.9 164.9875 107.2 Lake George Repeater S Park Park 2021.09
Topaz 11 171.1375 110.9 164.9875 114.8 Topaz Mountain Repeater S Platte / S Park Park 2022.07
Dicks Peak 12 171.1375 110.9 164.9875 127.3 Dicks Peak Repeater S Park Park
Sheep Ridge 13 171.1375 110.9 164.9875 141.3 Sheep Ridge (Sacramento Gulch) Repeater S Park Park
Bailey 14 171.1375 110.9 164.9875 151.4 Mount Bailey Repeater S Platte / S Park Park 2022.01
Badger 15 171.1375 110.9 164.9875 162.2 Badger Mountain Repeater S Park Park 2022.06
16 171.1375 110.9 164.9875 192.8 Portable Repeater (Incident specific) (Incident specific)
(UHF Link) 406.3250 (Varies) 415.3250 (Varies) UHF Remote Link to Pike Repeater Net (Tones vary depending upon repeater selected)


Intra-Crew, Work, & Tactical Frequencies

  • Pike NF has no (known) exclusive frequency assignments for either work or tactical use. All of Pike's work and tactical channels are shared use, either within the USFS or across the entire Federal Government. Beware that communications from other Federal agencies or forest units may be received on any/all of these frequencies depending on your location, as their use is not specific to Pike NF.
  • Work Channels/frequencies are generally restricted to low power use in handhelds for the purpose of intra-crew communications. These frequencies are part of a shared NTIA Itinerant/Common Use pool (see: Federal Government Itinerant) and not reserved for use by any one specific user/agency.
  • The three known Pike Tactical channels are shared use within USFS as nationwide NIFC Tacs and not specifically assigned to Pike NF. See National Incident Radio Support Cache for additional.
  • On extended attack incidents, frequencies from the National Incident Radio Support Cache pool are likely to be assigned.
  • Local/initial attack incidents may be assigned frequencies from the VHF portion of the NIFOG Interoperability pool (see: Common Public Safety#VHF High Band) to allow for direct coordination with local resources.
CH RX FREQ RX TONE TX FREQ TX TONE Description Notes Confirmation
TAC 1 168.050 CSQ 168.050 CSQ Pike TAC 1 (NIFC TAC 1) In common use nationwide as NIFC TAC 1, in use by PSF as an IA (Initial Attack) tactical frequency. Limited to mobile/handheld simplex use only. Not exclusively assigned to Pike NF. Has been referred to as "Group 5 Tac 1" by Pike NF personnel. 2022.06 (In use on Gove Creek incident.)
TAC 2 168.200 168.200 Pike TAC 2 (NIFC TAC 2) In common use nationwide as NIFC TAC 2, in use by PSF as an IA (Initial Attack) tactical frequency. Limited to mobile/handheld simplex use only. Not exclusively assigned to Pike NF. Has been referred to as "Group 5 Tac 2" by Pike NF personnel. 2022.06 (In use on Gove Creek incident.)
TAC 3 168.600 168.600 Pike TAC 3 (NIFC TAC 3) In common use nationwide as NIFC TAC 3, in use by PSF as an IA (Initial Attack) tactical frequency. Limited to mobile/handheld simplex use only. Not exclusively assigned to Pike NF. Has been referred to as "Group 5 Tac 3" by Pike NF personnel.
"Pike Work" 163.7125 163.7125 (Varies) Pike Work Ch 1 Gov't Common 1, handheld or mobile use only. National Travel Net, IHC, and Intra-Crew frequency. Tones 192.8 and 110.9 have been reported in use by Pike on this frequency. 2022.07 (Briefly heard maintenance or recreation personnel calling on "Work 1." Unknown if ARF or PSF personnel).
"Work-2" 168.6125 168.6125 (Varies) Pike Work Ch 2 Gov't Common 3, handheld or mobile use only. Secondary IHC and Intra-Crew frequency. Tones 103.5 and 110.9 have been reported in use by Pike on this frequency. 2022.07 (In use by REC units performing trail work using "Tone 8" (103.5).
"Gov Work" 168.350 168.350 "Government Work" Inter-agency Work Ch Gov't Common/Nationwide Itinerant. Can be used as an input to 163.100 for portable or temporary repeaters. Old National Travel Net and R-2 TAC. In common use by BLM as a Local Work Channel.
163.100 163.100 General Use Work/TAC Ch Gov't Common/Nationwide Itinerant. Output to 168.350 when configured for use as a temporary/portable repeater. Old National Logistics Channel. In common use by many Federal agencies as a travel channel.


Law Enforcement

  • The Pueblo Interagency Dispatch Center (Pueblo Dispatch) does not handle any LE dispatching functions. USFS LEO's in Colorado generally use either the State (CSP) communications center, or the local County Sheriff's dispatch center which covers the area they are working in for dispatch.
  • USFS LEO's working in the Rampart Range area of the South Platte Ranger District appear to be using DCSO for dispatch.
CH RX FREQ RX TONE TX FREQ TX TONE Description Notes Confirmation
"Devil's Head LEO" 172.5125 110.9 Unknown Devil's Head Law Enforcement Repeater Rampart Range Area Law Enforcement Operations Repeater. Very informal tactical use among USFS, DCSO, and CPW LEO's. Appears to be a standalone repeater, not monitored by Pueblo Dispatch. Douglas County dispatch does have access to this repeater and may use it in extremely rare instances to contact DCSO deputies working on calls in the forest. 2022.07
"FS Law" 168.025 CSQ 168.025 CSQ USFS Nationwide Law Enforcement Simplex Common Used occasionally for car-to-car comms between LE units on Pike NF. Often used by units when traveling on area highways. 2022.06

In addition to the conventional VHF frequencies shown above, the USFS has been assigned a handful of talkgroups on the State of Colorado DTRS. "USFS SE" has been used in the past by Pike NF LE units for car-to-car traffic, although traffic is more common on the VHF frequencies. Capturing traffic on these talkgroups is extremely difficult, due to the low saturation of USFS units with DTRS radios affiliating to the system.

Name TGID Description Notes
USFS STW 1230 US Forest Service Statewide Statewide common/travel channel for USFS units in Colorado.
USFS NE 1231 US Forest Service Northeast Operations Reserved for Arapaho, Roosevelt, and Pawnee operations.
USFS SE 1232 US Forest Service Southeast Operations Reserved for Pike, San Isabel, and Cimmaron/Comanche operations. Has been referred to on-air as "Southeast."
USFS NW 8375 US Forest Service Northwest Operations Reserved for Routt-Medicine Bow and White River operations.
USFS SW 8376 US Forest Service Southwest Operations Reserved for Grand Mesa-Uncompahgre-Gunnison (GMUG), Rio Grande, and San Juan operations.


Air Operations

CH RX FREQ RX TONE TX FREQ TX TONE Description Notes Confirmation
"National" (NTL FLTF) 168.650 110.9 168.650 110.9 National Flight Following Frequency Nationwide Flight Following Frequency. Used for dispatch, flight following, and/or redirection of aircraft or other air-to-ground administrative traffic. Not for incident or ground operations use. Appears in most radios as "NTL FLTF." Generally referred to on air as "National." Previously known as "Airnet." 2022.07 (in use daily with both PBC and FTC dispatch)
"AIRGUARD" 168.625 110.9 168.625 110.9 National Aircraft Emergency Frequency Continuous monitoring of this frequency is required of all tactical aircraft and dispatch offices. Restricted to emergency air-to-air or air-to-ground communications only. May be used for initial call, recall, and redirection of aircraft only if no other frequencies are available. Appears in all radios as "AIRGUARD" and generally as Channel 16 in portable radios to allow crews to quickly switch to it. 2021.12 (Used briefly as a contact frequency during the Oak Fire.)
"Air-Ground 35" 167.225 CSQ 167.225 CSQ Colorado Zone 07 Primary Air-Ground Primary Air-Ground frequency for Pueblo Dispatch Zone (Colorado Initial Attack Zone 07). National Air-Ground System Channel 35. Has been seen programmed as "CO07AG35" or "A/G 35" in some radios. 2022.07 (In use on Snow Creek Fire.)
"Air-Ground 10" 166.9375 CSQ 166.9375 CSQ Colorado Zone 07 Secondary Air-Ground Secondary Air-Ground frequency for Pueblo Dispatch Zone (Colorado Initial Attack Zone 07). National Air-Ground System Channel 10. Has been seen programmed as "CO07AG10" or "A/G 10" in some radios. 2022.05 (In use during operations on High Peak Fire.)
"Victor 121.075" 121.075 AM 121.075 AM Colorado Zone 07 Air-Air 1 Primary Air-Air frequency for Pueblo Dispatch Zone (Colorado Initial Attack Zone 07). Referred to on-air as "Victor" or "Victor 121.075." 2022.07 (In use during operations on the Snow Creek Fire).
119.575 AM 119.575 AM Colorado Zone 07 Air-Air 2 Secondary Air-Air frequency for Pueblo Dispatch Zone (Colorado Initial Attack Zone 07). 2022.07 (Inadvertently used during the Snow Creek Fire).
126.350 AM 126.350 AM Colorado Zone 07 Air-Air 3 Tertiary Air-Air frequency for Pueblo Dispatch Zone (Colorado Initial Attack Zone 07). Authorized for use during 2020 season, unknown if still in use.
(UHF Link) 408.9875 136.5 417.9875 110.9 UHF Remote Link to National Flight Following (168.650)


Operations

Station Locations / Ranger Districts

The Pueblo Interagency Dispatch Center has elected to assign station numbers to the work centers and district offices in their service area. These aliases are used when communicating with Pueblo Dispatch to describe the locations where personnel and apparatus are quartered. For Forest Service "stations," the station numbers correspond directly to the assigned district number for that particular Ranger District. Some stations may encompass several physical locations spread out across a given district. In these instances the station number is generally used to describe the resources of that particular Ranger District, and not necessarily a specific location. For stations arranged in this manner, the specific name of the work center or facility is usually given when communicating a unit status with Pueblo Dispatch. Forest Service Ranger Districts generally follow the watershed boundaries of their given territories, often causing them to cross county lines and other political boundaries. Please note that, due to the consolidation of several Ranger Districts over the years, there are some numbers which have been skipped.

Station No. Management Unit Ranger District Location(s)
Station 1 San Isabel Nat'l Forest (CO-PSF) Leadville Ranger District 810 Front St., Leadville, CO 80461
Station 2 San Isabel Nat'l Forest (CO-PSF) Salida Ranger District 5575 Cleora Rd., Salida, CO 81201
Station 3 San Isabel Nat'l Forest (CO-PSF) San Carlos Ranger District 3028 East Main St., Canon City, CO 81212
Station 4 Bureau of Land Management (CO-RMD) Rocky Mountain District Royal Gorge Field Office: 3028 E. Main St., Canon City, CO 81212 [1]

San Luis Valley Field Office: 1313 E HWY 160, Monte Vista, CO 81144

Station 6 Comanche Nat'l Grassland (CO-PSF) Springfield Ranger District Carrizo Unit: 27204 US HWY 287, Springfield, CO 81073

Timpas Unit: 1420 E. 3rd St., La Junta, CO 81050

Station 7 Cimarron Nat'l Grassland (CO-PSF) Elkhart Ranger District 242 E HWY 56, Elkhart, KS 67950
Station 9 Pike Nat'l Forest (CO-PSF) Pike's Peak Ranger District Woodland Park Work Center: 1408 Rampart Ranger Rd., Woodland Park, CO 80863

Monument Fire Center: 3751 Mt. Herman Rd., Monument, CO 80132 [2]

Station 10 Pike Nat'l Forest (CO-PSF) South Park Ranger District District Office: 320 HWY 285, Fairplay, CO 80440

Lake George Work Center: 140 Trail Creek Rd., Lake George, CO 80827

Station 11 Pike Nat'l Forest (CO-PSF) South Platte Ranger District Buffalo Creek Work Center: 18046 CR 126, Pine, CO 80425

[1]: The BLM's Royal Gorge Field Office is co-located with the San Carlos Ranger District Office.

[2]: The Monument Fire Center is the Headquarters for the Pike Interagency Hotshot Crew (IHC).


Response Areas

The Pueblo Interagency Dispatch Center has sub-divided the individual Ranger Districts of the Pike National Forest into geographic "Response Areas." These areas are identified by a numeric code, usually (but not always) beginning with the ranger district/station number. Units in the field will often provide Pueblo Dispatch with these numeric location codes when updating their statuses or locations throughout the day.


Station 9 - Pikes Peak Ranger District

Response Area Area Name Management Unit Ranger District County Cooperator Fire Districts
90 Seven Lakes CO-PSF Pikes Peak Teller N/A
90E Pikes Peak CO-PSF Pikes Peak El Paso / Teller Cascade / Green Mtn. Falls-Chip Park / NE Teller / Divide
90M Broadmoor CO-PSF Pikes Peak El Paso Broadmoor / Colorado Springs
90W Gillett CO-PSF Pikes Peak Teller Divide / Four Mile / Cripple Creek / Victor
91 Rampart Reservoir CO-PSF Pikes Peak El Paso Cascade / Green Mtn. Falls-Chip Park
91M Garden of the Gods CO-PSF Pikes Peak El Paso Woodmen Valley / USAFA / Colorado Springs / Tri-Lakes Monument
92E Chimney Peak CO-PSF Pikes Peak Douglas / El Paso N/A
92M Spruce Mountain CO-PSF Pikes Peak Douglas Larkspur / Tri-Lakes Monument
92W Manitou Experimental Forest CO-PSF Pikes Peak Douglas / Teller / El Paso NE Teller / Mountain Communities
93 Signal Butte CO-PSF Pikes Peak Douglas / Teller NE Teller / Divide / Mountain Communities


Station 10 - South Park Ranger District

Response Area Area Name Management Unit Ranger District County Cooperator Fire Districts
10 Lake George CO-PSF South Park Park Lake George / Hartsel
10A Stoll Mountain CO-PSF South Park Park Lake George / Hartsel
10N Hackett Gulch CO-PSF South Park Park Lake George / Mountain Communities / Florissant
10P Florissant Fossil Beds-NPS CO-PSF / CO-FFP South Park Teller Florissant / Divide
10S Four Mile CO-PSF South Park Park / Teller Southern Park County / Four Mile
11 Thirtynine Mile Mountain CO-PSF South Park Park Southern Park County / Hartsel
12 Dicks Peak CO-PSF South Park Park Southern Park County / Hartsel
13 Badger Flats CO-PSF South Park Park Lake George
13A Puma Hills CO-PSF South Park Park Lake George / Hartsel
14 Northern Tarryall CO-PSF South Park Park Jefferson-Como
14A Farnum Peak CO-PSF South Park Park Jefferson-Como / Hartsel / Lake George
15 Topaz Mountain CO-PSF South Park Park Jefferson-Como
16 Lost Creek Wilderness West CO-PSF South Park Park Jefferson-Como / Lake George
17 Georgia Pass CO-PSF South Park Park Northwest / Jefferson-Como
18 Sacramento CO-PSF South Park Park Northwest / Hartsel
19 Jones Hill CO-PSF South Park Park Hartsel / Northwest
19N Reinecker Ridge CO-PSF South Park Park Northwest / Jefferson-Como / Hartsel
19S South Highway 9 CO-PSF South Park Park Hartsel
19SE Spinney CO-PSF South Park Park Hartsel
19SW Antero CO-PSF South Park Park Hartsel
19W Buffalo Peaks Wilderness CO-PSF South Park Park Northwest


Station 11 - South Platte Ranger District

Response Area Area Name Management Unit Ranger District County Cooperator Fire Districts
1101 Sawmill Gulch CO-PSF South Platte Park Platte Canyon
1102 Mt. Evans Wilderness CO-PSF South Platte Park Platte Canyon
1102A Mt. Evans Wilderness-ARF CO-ARF Clear Creek Park Platte Canyon
1103 Harris Park CO-PSF South Platte Park Platte Canyon / Elk Creek
1103A Cub Creek-ARF CO-ARF Clear Creek Park / Jefferson Elk Creek / Evergreen
1104 Buffalo Creek CO-PSF South Platte Jefferson North Fork
1105 Indian Creek CO-PSF South Platte Jefferson West Douglas / Forest Service
1106 Lost Creek Wilderness CO-PSF South Platte Park / Jefferson Platte Canyon / Jefferson-Como
1106E N. Terryall / Kenosha CO-PSF South Platte Park Platte Canyon / North Fork
1107 Cheeseman Lake CO-PSF South Platte Jefferson / Douglas / Teller North Fork / Mountain Communities / Lake George
1108 Polhemus Gulch CO-PSF South Platte Jefferson North Fork / Mountain Communities / Forest Service


Unit Identifiers

Unit identifiers for personnel and apparatus operating on the Pike National Forest generally follows the "Function-District-Position" format in use nationally. In this format, units will identify themselves first by their function (such as "Engine" or "Module") followed by the ranger district number (see Stations list) and then followed by their unique identifier or a position number (example: "Engine 11-1" would correspond to an engine assigned to the South Platte District). Resources from other agencies or from other forest units will generally identify themselves using their own callsigns prefaced by the outside agency name, the outside forest unit's name, or the home location of the unit (example: "North Fork 1201," or "Minnesota Engine 621"). Visiting units may sometimes use the older style four digit numeric identifiers which follow the Forest-District-Function format. These identifiers lead off with the numeric code for the forest unit, followed by the district number, and then by the individual units function code (resources, fire management, ect). These callsigns are still in use by other Forest Service Regions, but rarely encountered on the Pike National Forest. Many forest service engines from outside the Pike (such as those based on the Arapahoe-Roosevelt National Forest to the north) will use three digit identifiers, with the first digit signifying the type of engine, the next digit signifiyng the zone or district, and the last a unique identifier. Personnel not attached to a unit or without an assigned callsign use their last name to identify themselves on the radio.

Apparatus markings for the Pike National Forest are compliant with NWCG PMS 931 Standards for Unit Identifiers and are easily distinguishable by their unique Unit Identifier Code when operating in the field or on an incident (CO-PSF).

Identifier Description Notes
"Chief" Forest Fire Management Officer (FFMO) / Assistant Forest Fire Management Officer (AFFMO)
"Division" District / Zone Fire Management Officer
"Battalion" District / Zone Asst. Fire Management Officer
"Captain" Squad / Engine Supervisor
"Squad" Initial Attack / Fuels Management Squad
"Patrol" Patrol Unit (A patrol truck equipped with water, usually a Type VII light wildland engine.)
"Prevention" Prevention Unit (A patrol truck not equipped with water.)
"Engine" Wildland Fire Engine (Any ground vehicle used principally for tactical wildland firefighting, used to deploy water on a fire using pump and hose. Structural engines are Types I and II, heavy wildland engines are Types III, IV, and V, and light wildland engines are types VI, and VII.)
"Dozer" Wildland Fire Dozer (A tracked vehicle with front mounted blade used for exposing mineral soil to construct fireline or firebreaks.)
"MOD" Engine / Fuels Management Module
"REC" Recreation Technician (Performs resource management activities such as maintenance of recreation facilities and trails, leading work crews, patrolling forest areas, and assisting in suppression of wildland fires. May be qualified to enforce forest rules and regulations as a Forest Protection Officer.)
"FS-##" Law Enforcement & Investigations