DEM discusses emergency preparedness with commissioners

Last fall, The Eagle released "Emergency Preparedness in Wahkiakum County," a four-part series of articles written by local resident Shirley Rheault and DEM (Department of Emergency Management) Coordinator Austin Smith. From preparing a last-minute evacuation list to being "two weeks ready," these articles provided tips for individuals and families in the event of a major emergency. At the request of District 2 County Commissioner Dan Cothren, Rheault and Smith made a presentation during the Feb. 18 Board of Wahkiakum County Commissioners meeting on what she and DEM "have been doing these past nine months."

According to Rheault, the first action was dividing the county into smaller groups and having fire chiefs "mapping out neighborhoods" in their respective districts. "We also began work to get large maps into each fire station, with grids to communicate locations to other fire stations," said Rheault. "The GIS (Geographic Information System) Technician, Adam Vogt introduced an interactive mapping program that all emergency personnel can access that will have on it the location of all our resources."

After some research, Rheault learned that neither the Johnson Park, Cathlamet, or St. Catherine's food banks nor the Rosburg or Wahkiakum schools have back-up power. While Julius A. Wendt Elementary School "had the greatest potential" as a possible shelter location because of its newer electrical system, research found the school's kitchen would only be able to warm up rather than cook food. The school's electrical panel being "three-phase power" also raised questions of getting resources to the building. Regarding food supply, Rheault said, "We were surprised to learn that the State of Washington has no long-term food stockpiled for the citizens of this state. They only have long-term food provisions for personnel at the state Emergency Operations Center." Left to "their own means to figure this out," Rheault and DEM developed a two-week menu of meals "made from scratch with the shelf-stable foods," coming up with a cost of $26,852. "The cooks at the Rosburg Community Hall were very gracious and willing to cook food this way in order to save the county tens of thousands of dollars," said Rheault. "However, it was an impractical option due to the huge burden of work involved to prepare meals and the chaos that would ensue just getting the correct ingredients out of storage." Exploring other options, including MRE's (Meal, Ready to Eat) and Ready Hour, one-year food supply kits, the option that seemed the most practical is "a combination of 120 servings of Ready Hour entree buckets" and "making scratch oatmeal with raisins" for breakfast. "The preparations only require boiling water," said Rheault. "The ingredients are healthy, and it’s easy to prepare for groups of people." Having a shelf life of 25 years and including coffee, sugar, and creamer, the option's cost ($21,591) was over $5,000 less than the two weeks of meals option.

Finally, Rheault discussed two possible options for storing the long-term food: a shipping container or a climate-controlled, free-standing 8 foot by 24 foot room. According to Rheault, the former not only cost more but did not include a prepping site, gravel, cover, or electricity. Mentioning ways to help fund the costs, including a Lions Club International Foundation Disaster Preparedness Grant that covers 75% of a project up to $15,000, Rheault said to the Board, "Our hopes are that you’ll accept this long-term food project onto your Capital Improvement Fund list so we would be better prepared to handle a disaster, should one happen."

Crediting Rheault for her work and concurring her sentiment, Smith said, "While we’re still in the stages of trying to figure out how to fund this, we have pretty much figured out how we will do it....Coming from the government side (and) knowing there are so many new people to our area who don’t know the land here, we are going to have to help those who don’t know how to help themselves."

Following the DEM presentation, Cothren, speaking on those implied by Smith, said, "When you move to this community and you live in these outer areas, make sure you have enough supplies to get you through a three-day function. It might even be more. We’re used to it here. We prepare for it. We’ve had people come in here panicked over several things, and we’re dealing with that. Folks come from an urban setting, they expect somebody to be there all the time to take care of them. That’s not here. You’ve got to be able to take care of yourself, too."