Weekly Watch 11/7: Topics for the emergency management community

This Friday is Veteran’s Day, a day for us to remember and pay tribute to all veterans and their dedication and sacrifice. In emergency management we recognize the unique skills, experience and passion for serving others that veterans and those still serving bring to our communities. There is a call to duty that does not diminish once we take off the uniform.

When I joined the Army, I thought of it as an opportunity to travel and build job skills, but what I gained was so much more. I became part of a community that was bound by a common mission and bonded through shared experiences. I learned that we’re all capable of doing more than we think and that one individual can make a difference. Most importantly, I saw so much selflessness.

Our military members are emergency responders who go rushing in while others come rushing out. They don’t care who needs help, or why -- they just know they need to assist. Every day, they’re challenged and put into situations that force them to build a camaraderie.

Now that I’m employed with OEM, I see many of those same traits represented in the emergency management field. Emergency managers lead the response during and after emergencies, putting the life safety needs of their communities above all else. Like veterans, all of us in emergency management are mission driven, dealing with the humanitarian aspects of emergencies and putting service above self. We all get back so much more than we put in.

To all the veterans working in emergency management across the state and our partners on active duty at Oregon National Guard, we stand resolute in honoring your dedication, your courage and your resilience. Thank you for your service and for the difference you continue to make each day.

Lorilei Broughton, U.S. Army Veteran
Chief Audit Executive, Oregon Department of Emergency Management

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell has appointed OEM Director Andrew Phelps to the agency’s National Advisory Council. Phelps joins 15 other new appointees, all of whom will begin a three-year term on Dec. 1. The council is made up of up to 35 members. The National Advisory Council advises the FEMA administrator on all aspects of emergency management, including preparedness, protection, response, recovery and mitigation for disasters and national emergencies. Council members represent a substantive cross-section of officials, emergency managers and emergency response providers from state, local, tribal and territorial governments, the private sector and nongovernmental organizations. Since its creation in 2006, the council has provided nearly 400 recommendations to FEMA on a variety of key emergency management topics. Tune into FEMA's Before, During & After podcast to learn more about the NAC and how the field of emergency management is changing.

The Oregon Department of Energy has released its 2022 Biennial Energy Report, providing data and information on key energy resources, policies, trends and forecasts, and what they mean for Oregon. The report is divided into several sections, walking through how Oregon is on the path to a cleaner, low-carbon future. Data and examples illustrate the many considerations and investments in new energy resources, system-wide planning and responsible management. These efforts have positioned Oregon to successfully tackle today’s energy challenges and needs, which are driven by a changing energy landscape bolstered by new statewide clean energy policies – and by Oregonians embracing cleaner energy, economic innovation and emerging technologies.

Join the Red Cross and FEMA Region 10 from noon to 12:15 p.m. on Nov. 17 to learn more about holiday safety, including traveling, decorating and fire starters that may be in the home. Ho-Ho-How to Stay Safe During the Holidays is part of FEMA Region 10's Third Thursday Tips, a monthly series of quick, 15-minute webinars about risk reduction. Learn more and register with Zoom.

The U.S. Department of Justice has released a new plain-language guide to federal voting rights laws. Know Your Voting Rights; Your Guide to Federal Voting Rights Laws includes sections on Voting 101, Protecting Your Right to Vote, Voter Registration, Voting with Limited English Proficiency, Voting with a Disability and Reporting a Violation. Download the document at the DOJ website.

Working in partnership with the Deaf Community, the Red Cross has created videos that convey key messages for fire prevention and safety in a way that is accessible, culturally competent, engaging, and fully reflective of the diversity found in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community. Found online at the Red Cross ASL Disaster Resource Hub, these videos include content for deaf or hard of hearing adults and children, with additional content for parents and caregivers of deaf and hard of hearing children. The collection also includes survivor stories, PSA-style videos, and resources to help American Red Cross volunteers, staff and partners who do not know ASL improve interactions with those in the Deaf Community. The Cultural Intelligence video provides a solid foundation for first responders, non-profits, and local, state and federal partners to help improve service and interactions with the Deaf Community. These resources were made possible through FEMA’s Fire Prevention and Safety Grant.

OEM has announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity for Hazard Mitigation Grant Program - Post Fire 5446. Following is a summary of the declared post fire disaster and amounts available under this grant round. 

Disaster-Related Dates and Information
Incident Period: August 2, 2022+
Type of Incident: 2 Fire Management Assistance Grants (FMAGs), FM-5446 (Miller Road Fire) & FM-5454 (Mile McIver Fire)
Declaration Date/Pre-award Costs Start Date: August 3, 2022 (First FMAG declaration – FM-5446 Miller Road Fire)
Directly Affected Areas: Wasco & Clackamas Counties
Total Federal Funds Available: $1,573,104.00

Federal Funds Available by Project Category
Projects: $991,055.52
Plans: $110,117.28
5% Initiative: $78,665.20
Advance Assistance (AA): $393,276.00

Subapplicant briefings will be held via Zoom at 3 p.m. on Nov. 8 and at 11 a.m. on Nov. 15 (Meeting ID: 836 5288 2153, Passcode: 183932). One will be recorded and posted on the OEM Hazard Mitigation website for later review. Preapplications to be considered this grant round must be submitted no later than Nov. 30. Eligible jurisdictions are encouraged to submit pre-applications to the mitigation team at oem.hazardmitigation@oem.oregon.gov. 

The Assessing Structure Ignition Potential for Wildfire (ASIP) course is a free National Fire Prevention Assn. training that discusses wildfire behavior, structure exposure, the concepts of the home ignition zone and structure ignition potential. This training is designed to increase understanding of wildland-urban interface fire mitigation, show how to assess risk to individual homes, and recommend proper mitigation measures. These courses include a half-day field exercise, weather and location permitting, where students will get hands-on experience putting their new knowledge into practice. Click here for more information.

Boy Scouts of America Jamboree-on-the-Air (JOTA) is the world's largest digital and radio scout event. JOTA engages scouts in amateur radio and gives them a chance to communicate with other scouts around the country and the world. Last month, OEM radio communications supported and participated in JOTA at the Polk County Fairgrounds in Rickreall. OEM Communications Officer Doug Jimenez and Linfield College Emergency Manager Doug Cummins attended the event with OEM’s communications trailer, helping nearly 50 scouts make digital radio contacts with other scouts across the country and in Europe, as well as local contacts via repeaters here in Oregon. Digital operations are a new capability for OEM, which operates a Fusion gateway out of its portable radio room, allowing operators to connect to worldwide networks over the internet. Jimenez also brought a radio hotspot that connected to the internet; by running in it DMR mode, they were able to make contacts throughout the U.S. and Europe from radios in the communications trailer and a few personal handheld radios. The hotspot allowed the users to see where each contact was from. According to Jimenez, the scouts were especially excited when talking to other countries! OEM thanks Jimenez and Cummins for sharing their knowledge on communications technology and engaging these youth in educational activities that build teamwork, cross-cultural understanding and skills for the future.

Experts from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and others have developed a first-of-its-kind ASTM Standard Guide for Community Resilience Planning for Buildings and Infrastructure to help communities improve their ability to withstand and recover from disasters. Standards exist to ensure that individual buildings and infrastructure systems stand up to hurricanes, earthquakes, fires or other hazards, but until now, there has not been a consensus-based standard that considers their impact on social systems and services on a community scale. The new guide offers a step-by-step process for developing resilience plans and goals for recovery that can be tailored to the needs of individual communities and used without expert assistance.

FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute (EMI) has released its fiscal year 2023 course schedule for the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Skillset Curriculum. The EOC Skillset is a set of five courses designed to assist individuals and jurisdictions that desire to develop or improve their EOCs. By the end of each course, students will be able to demonstrate, through activities and a final exam, the skillset roles of the modern-day EOC. Courses focus on actions and products generated in an EOC before, during, and after an event. Courses in the EOC Skillset curriculum in the “K” series are all hosted virtually by EMI. Each course is offered multiple times throughout the year. For more information on this training opportunity and how to register, see EMI’s EMIGram.

The Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) has prepared a survey collecting information from stakeholders about largescale Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) activations conducted by electric utilities during a high wind event Sept. 8-10. OPUC is requesting responses to the questions as well as free-form comments to the experience and observations. Information collected will be consolidated and provided anonymously to the various electric utilities to help inform discussion on industry best-practices and incorporated into views on wildfire mitigation plans and operational approaches as a partner in emergency response for the state. The survey is available here and will be open through Nov. 15.

The National Homeland Security Association (NHSA) is accepting proposals for the 2023 National Homeland Security Conference (NHSC) to be held in Chicago, July 24-27, 2023. Presentations that focus on current issues, lessons learned, best practices, emerging technologies, emerging threats and participant interaction are strongly encouraged and will be given preference. Multiple submissions are welcome. Click here to learn more and submit presentations by Jan. 21, 2023.

Now's the time to be proactive for wet and snowy weather. Kathleen Silva with Marion County Emergency Management is encouraging her communities to acquire sand and sandbags now to support their local needs during the fall and winter weather events. She recommends contacting community rock quarries or warehouse businesses in the area instead of purchasing sand and sandbags for the season. Local businesses may consider donating resources within communities they operate. This is also a great way to build relationships and help community members experiencing high water or localized flooding mitigate against property damage. Marion County has one sandbag site it opens during long duration weather events or when there’s increased potential for localized flooding incidents. When the site is open, information is posted to Marion County’s website and shared with 2-1-1. The county’s existing cache of sandbags is used as a proactive effort to support flooding to critical infrastructure or a formal request for support for major community flooding. Silva also recommends that anyone planning to open a sandbagging location for their community should make their emergency management office aware so it can share the information with the public. The county has created a video showing how to properly fill sandbags and stack them for the best results.