Residents, local leaders express thanks for Action 8’s new Lifesaver Radar in Wilcox County
Residents, local government leaders and emergency management agency officials are already expressing their thanks for Action 8’s new Lifesaver Radar in Wilcox County.
This new Climavision radar system is in the town of Pine Hill, west of Camden. It joins the other Lifesaver Radar, which is near the Alabama-Mississippi state line west of Demopolis that was unveiled last summer.
Together, they close what has been known as the “radar gap” in West Alabama, where thousands of families didn’t have adequate radar coverage because government radars were too far away. That meant a tornado might go undetected, putting lives in danger — until now.
This image shows the radar gap in West Alabama. Government radars are too far away to provide adequate coverage in several of our local counties. — Graphic from WAKA Action 8 News
Action 8 had a lot of help in getting the Wilcox County radar installed.
“It was a huge effort, a huge effort between Pine Hill, Climavision, Pine Belt, Public Works. And everybody has come together to help us fill this gap of radar. So that we can help prevent possibly any deaths in the county and help our residents stay informed,” Wilcox County EMA Director Melissa Dove said.
“I think that was a good thing to do. And very safe for all of us,” Pine Hill resident Elizabeth Bland said.
“There are a lot of people that live here who are scared every time a tornado rolls through, every time there’s bad weather,” Jamie Agee, who serves on the Pine Hill City Council, said.
“Hopefully, it’ll save somebody’s life. That’s the main thing,” Pine Hill Mayor Koss Green, Jr. said.
This image shows how the two Action 8 Lifesaver Radar systems close that gap with never-before-seen radar coverage. — Graphic from WAKA Action 8 News
David Butts, Jr., is a severe weather survivor. He says he’ll never forget being inside of his house in Camden when a tree fell on it during a storm.
“Hurricane Zeta struck Wilcox County. The whole house felt like it was about to be taken up any second. I ran to my bathroom. Got into the tub. All of a sudden you hear this loud smashing. That was the tree on top of the house. I just stayed in the tub and prayed and prayed and prayed,” Butts said.
His story is just one reason Action 8 decided to step in. People talked for years about the need for better radar coverage in West Alabama, but little progress was made. Action 8’s parent company, Bahakel Communications, LTD., of Charlotte, North Carolina, made the investment in these radars, with the support of local sponsor, The Johnny Adams Law Firm.
Even with that financial commitment, a lot of work still had to be done.
“At every single site we need, one, power — to power the radar,” Riley Pheiffer, project coordinator for Climavision, said. “Backup power in the event of power failure during a weather event. So, you know when you need this radar most, we want to make sure that it’s still live and pumping data. We also need communications to get the data flowing.”
That’s where Pine Belt Communications came in.
“We have, in the last 10 years, really built out our fiber network here through Wilcox, Marengo, Dallas, Perry and Choctaw counties. So it was actually fortuitous that we were already here and ready to go,” Anne Capps of Pine Belt Communications said.
The benefit will come anytime severe weather threatens.
“Earlier timing, warning times. Give advance notice more. That’s going to just help a whole lot,” Marengo County EMA Director Kevin McKinney said. His area has already seen the increased coverage with the first Lifesaver Radar that was installed last year.
These radars scan lower levels of the atmosphere where tornadoes can be spotted. They are designed to work with the existing government radars, using X-Band technology and offering 10 times the resolution of other radar systems. The Climavision radar systems were built in Alabama.
Even if you don’t live in West Alabama, you still get the benefit of seeing storms first as they move from west to east toward Selma, Montgomery and points east.
The Lifesaver Radar scans can only be seen on Action 8.
Watch the video above to learn more about Lifesaver Radar.
