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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) assessed a record $34,000 forfeiture against an amateur radio licensee for “willfully and repeatedly operating a radio station without authorization and interfering with the radio communications of the United States Forest Service … while the U.S. Forest Service and the Idaho Department of Lands were attempting to direct the operations of fire suppression aircraft working a 1,000-acre wildfire on national forest land outside of Elk River, Idaho.”

As ARRL News first reported in 2022, the FCC proposed the fine against Jason Frawley of Lewiston, Idaho, for allegedly interfering with radio operations of the U.S. Forest Service during firefighting activities for the Johnson Creek Fire near Elk River in July 2021. The FCC stated in the Notice of Apparent Liability (NAL) that Frawley holds an Extra-class Amateur Radio Service license, WA7CQ, and is the owner/operator of Leader Communications LLC, licensee of eight microwave licenses and one business license.

In response, Frawley acknowledged that he operated on a frequency reserved for government use and for which he lacked authorization but argues that he did not cause interference to the government’s fire suppression activities that were being coordinated on the channel and acted with “good faith and non-malicious intent to help.” Frawley requested a reduction or cancellation of the proposed forfeiture based on the number and duration of the unauthorized transmissions, his history of compliance and corrective measures, and his inability to pay the proposed forfeiture.

In the Forfeiture Order released on January 3, 2025, the FCC rejected Frawley’s request and assessed the full proposed forfeiture of $34,000.

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Don’t be surprised if there’s a strong solar flare today. The sun has already produced three intense X-flares this weekend and shows no sign of slowing down. So far the effects have been limited to shortwave radio blackouts, but CMEs and geomagnetic storms could be in the offing as the underlying sunspot turns toward Earth

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2025 is off to a good start. On Jan. 1st, auroras spilled across the Arctic Circle, spreading as far south as Mexico, Colorado and Arizona during an intense geomagnetic storm. For a while, storm levels reached category G4, which is severe. The storm is subsiding now, but sky watchers should remain alert for auroras as geomagnetic activity flickers between category G1 (Minor) and G3 (Strong) for the next 12 to 24 hours.