Officers: Plan ahead for emergencies

The last time Puget Island was evacuated in May, 1986, Gene Strong was sheriff, and the tidal wave warning system was new.

Puget Island fire trucks drove around the Island with loudspeakers to alert residents. Eagle archives indicate that state police controlled traffic, and farmers brought livestock with them.

Strong is now an emergency planner for Clatsop County, where he conducted a test of the tsunami alert system on April 6.

The evacuation in 1986 went smoothly, Strong said, although not everyone left the Island. Vehicles drove from the Island and parked on Columbia Street where they waited for an all clear.

While neither Wahkiakum Undersheriff Mark Howie nor Chief Civil Deputy Joannie Bjorge said they see benefit in public drills or exercises, they recommend every household prepare a plan for emergencies.

Bjorge said she concentrates on getting emergency information out at the Wahkiakum County Fair. Neighborhood Mapping Curriculum is available at the sheriff’s office for neighbors to exchange phone numbers and look out for each other.

Volunteer Emergency Services Coordinator Ron Kimmel said the sheriff’s office also has a program called Civilian Emergency Response Team (CERT) in which a group of people is trained to help emergency personnel.

Bjorge advised citizens to have supplies to last for several days. She suggested citezens gather information at http://www.co.wahkiakum.wa.us/depts/sheriff/DepartmentofEmergencyManagement, http://www.emd.wa.gov, or http://www.fema.gov.

A brochure available at the Sheriff’s office “Can 9-1-1 Call You?” published by Region IV Homeland Security, provides directions on how to register a cell phone and business line with the emergency notification system.

Puget Island Fire Chief Scott Kehrli advised the Island’s 835 residents that, “There’s more than one bridge to get over; you might not be able to get over the Birnie Slough bridge. There are concerns about the dikes and liquefaction in some places. There’s a need for people to have water, food, batteries, candles and be ready to stay at home for a while. We may be stuck over here.”