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Hundreds of National Guardsmen to visit North Las Vegas for massive emergency preparedness drill
North Las Vegas, Nevada — Nevada media are invited to attend the Vigilant Guard ’17 mock catastrophe response exercise from noon to 2 p.m. Monday at the Southern Nevada Operation Engineers’ facility at 6350 Howdy Wells Ave., Las Vegas, which will feature hundreds of members of the North Las Vegas Fire Department, Nevada National Guard, Nevada Division of Emergency Management, Clark County Office of Emergency Management and California National Guard in a simulated post-earthquake relief effort.
Vigilant Guard ’17 will test the agencies as they respond to a powerful mock earthquake that has struck Nevada. A similar mock earthquake will occur in California, requiring both states to coordinate their emergency responses to ensure citizens of both states are safe and supplied with essential goods and services.
North Las Vegas is the first public entity in the United States to incorporate such a massive number of military assets into a drill of this type. Vigilant Guard ’17 also marks the first time the annual National Guard exercise has been co-located and hosted by two states: Nevada and California.
"Residents' safety is our No. 1 priority, which is why we thought it so essential not only to craft one of the best response plans in the nation but to put it to the test so we can continually refine and improve it," North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee said. "No one wants to imagine that a catastrophe could happen in his community, but in the unfortunate case that it does, the City of North Las Vegas will be ready."
WHAT: Vigilant Guard ’17 mock disaster response exercise
WHO: Multiple local, federal and state agencies including the City of North Las Vegas, the Nevada and California National Guards and the Nevada Division of Emergency Management
WHEN: Noon-2 p.m., Monday, Nov. 14
WHERE: Southern Nevada Operation Engineers’ facility, 6350 Howdy Wells Ave., Las Vegas
Media attending Monday’s training session will observe a simulation of the aftermath of a massive earthquake and will witness North Las Vegas firefighters, along with about 200 specialized Nevada Guard soldiers and airmen, practicing their evacuation and rescue skills in a rubble pile. The specialized team of Guardsmen is part of the Nevada Guard’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive Enhanced Response Force Package, commonly referred to by the acronym CERF-P. The team can be assembled quickly to provide assistance to federal, state and local agencies in a variety of hazardous and emergency situations.
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