SECR5060 Webster University Emergency Management Preparedness Discussion
Week 4 Assignment – Preparedness
Read Chapter 4: The Disciplines of Emergency Management – Preparedness.
Title of book: Introduction to Emergency Management (6th Edition) Author of book: George D. Haddow, Jane A. Bullock, Damon P. Coppola Chapter Title: Chapter 2 Natural and Technological Hazards and Risk Assessment Author of Chapter: George D. Haddow, Jane A. Bullock, Damon P. Coppola Year: 2017 Publisher: Elsevier Inc.
Emergency managers and planners must consider a myriad of potential problems that may affect their regions. Many of these were explored in Chapter 2 of the text. One of the critical areas in this nation is understanding and preparing for the effects of a major wildfire within many regions. This is particularly important as the damages are significant. With the potential for significant loss of life, property damage, and overall destruction.
Remember to consider the unbelieveable!
California
Over the years, California’s biggest and most destructive wildfires have been sparked in several ways – originating with runaway campfires, lightning storms and arsonists.
Most are caused by humans, (approximately 90 percent), who do things like target practice in dry creek beds or lighting campfires when they shouldn’t. Careless tree trimmers have allowed trees to fall into power lines.
One man near Redding, CA, cut dry grass during hot weather that generated sparks – after ignoring warnings not to mow and telling one concerned passerby, “Go to hell!” A whole neighborhood of homes went up in flames.
A recent wildfire in Northern California in 2017, (Helena Fire), consumed over 21,449 acres within a month and even with approximately 85 percent containment, the costs to the public were estimated at $30 Million.
Tennessee
One of the worst wildfires in recent times was the Mountain resort city Gatlinburg, TN being consumed by a firestorm in late November and early December 2016. Fourteen people died from the blaze
The fire became exceedingly dangerous when strong winds spread a small patch of flames across a large swath of Great Smoky Mountain National Park. By the time the it died down, 17,000 acres were scorched and 170 structures destroyed as well as 2,100 homes lost. About 14,000 people were evacuated, 130 injured, and 2,500 left without power. With an estimated cost of $500M it is one of the costliest fires in history.
Consider this Question:
For purposes of this assignment, it is September 2017. You are an emergency planner in a medium-sized town (20,000 residents) north of Medford, Oregon. The region is prone to wildfires and in fact Emergency Managers and Planners from Portland, Salem, Eugene and Medford area are all concerned because there is an increase in Wildfire activity throughout the region. The National Interagency Fire Center has predicted that there is Significant Wildfire Potential for the month of September 2017 (above normal significant wildlife potential indicates a greater than usual likelihood that significant wildland fires will occur). In fact, in the area along Interstate 5, through this region, there were over 557,000 acres affected by wildfires.
There are two questions to this week’s assignment
1) What are the different preparedness activities that the town’s emergency managers can participate in to improve their readiness to deal with a major wildfire event.
2) What types of exercises would you, as an emergency planner, conduct for the emergency managers, first responders, and/or the public? What agencies would be involved? Be specific in your answers to both questions.
The maximum length of this assignment is approximately two pages using the APA style. You are expected to support your response with at least two Internet resources found in your Reference List. Properly cite, using APA “in text reference citations,” the information you used in your assignment. This includes the specific location, i.e. page number, paragraph number, section title, etc., where you found the source information used in your response.
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