Readiness Report: May is Wildfire Awareness Month

May is Wildfire Awareness Month in Oregon, a time to prevent and prepare for wildfires while supporting those still recovering from previous events. Each year, more than 70% of Oregon’s wildfires are started by people. Wildfire Awareness Month encourages Oregonians to plan so they know what to do before, during and after a wildfire and take actions to keep themselves, their loved ones and their communities safe.

Throughout the month multiple state agencies, including Oregon Department of Forestry, Office of State Fire Marshal, Keep Oregon Green and Oregon Department of Emergency Management, will share wildfire prevention and preparedness tips with Oregonians. Topics will include defensible space, safe debris burning, avoiding vehicle fires, campfire safety, evacuation preparations and more.

Recent fire seasons have been longer and more severe in Oregon. Oregonians need to be aware of fire risks in their area and actively prepare themselves and their homes for wildfire risk reduction. This includes signing up or updating information for local emergency alerts at ORAlert.gov; enabling Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) on cell phones; having a family emergency plan; assembling a disaster supply kit; talking with neighbors; and knowing the three-level evacuation notification system and having routes mapped out. Visitors to Oregon’s natural areas should be familiar with current fire restrictions or bans before building campfires, burning debris or using equipment that could start a fire.

This is also a good time to create defensible space and use fire-resistance landscaping around homes; clean roofs and gutters and inspect chimneys; install and test smoke alarms; and employ fire hardening with fire-safe construction measures. 

Another wildfire season is upon us. Let’s make sure we work together as partners to educate our communities about existing hazards and risks, how to prepare for those hazards and reduce risk, and what to expect during an emergency or disaster 

All my best,

Matt Garrett
Oregon Department of Emergency Management Interim Director

As part of Wildfire Awareness Month, the Office of State Fire Marshal is hosting a series of webinars geared toward preparing for wildfire. Click the link of the webinar to register.

May 3: noon-1 p.m. Firewise USA: What motivates people to start a community?
May 10: noon-1 p.m. 5 Es of CRR (wildfire focus for the fire service)
May 16: noon-1 p.m. Community Wildfire Protection Plans 101
May 24: noon-1 p.m. Emergency Preparedness 
May 31: noon-1 p.m. Fire-resistant plants and flammable plants 
June 14: noon-1 p.m. Public Safety Power Shut-offs 
June 21: 12:30-1:30 p.m. Fire Season Forecast 

OEM will have a planned power outage from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 6. During this time, users will not have access to either OpsCenter or the RAPTOR secure mapping applications. Requests for assistance can still be made through OERS at 1-800-452-0311. Notifications to relevant partners will be made through alternate processes, as necessary, during these timeframes.

Governor Tina Kotek and Oregon Housing and Community Services announced that funding contracts for the Homelessness State of Emergency have been signed and funding will start being distributed to the regional multi-agency coordination (MAC) groups. Six of the seven regional MACs finalized contracts to receive emergency funding to execute the Governor’s emergency order, which specifies the dollars will be used to prevent nearly 9,000 people from becoming homeless, rehouse more than 1,200 households and create over 600 new shelter beds in emergency areas by end of the year. Due to a local policy that requires the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners to approve the contract before it is signed, Clackamas County’s contract is expected to be executed soon. Learn more at www.oregon.gov/newsroom.

The ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning System detects earthquakes quickly so alerts can be delivered to people before they feel shaking. These alerts can be directly integrated into healthcare facility communication and control systems, such as intercoms, to warn people and protect patients and staff. Examples include opening elevator doors to prevent people from becoming trapped inside and shutting down delicate hospital equipment to limit damage. ShakeAlert is holding a free, two-hour webinar from 1-3 p.m. on May 10 to share how hospitals and other healthcare partners can use ShakeAlert technology to enhance their workplace’s earthquake resilience. Learn more and register at www.washington.zoom.us.

FEMA is offering a wildfire focused “When Minutes Matter: Alert and Warning Technical Assistance (TA)” workshop delivery from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 10, 17 and 24. Participants should include those with a role in communicating emergency protective action guidance to the public, from jurisdictions threatened by wildfire. The delivery will include presentations from experts in wildfire-specific risk communication who will also be available to answer questions about alerts and warnings for wildfire. This TA is available for up to 500 participants and is limited to no more than two participants per jurisdiction. Register at www.eventbrite.com.

RapidSOS is hosting a webinar at 11 a.m. on May 11 titled, Ensuring Customer Safety During Mass Emergencies: Data Insights from Disasters. The webinar will discuss safeguarding individuals during mass emergencies. The RapidSOS team will share insights from their analysis of thousands of emergency calls and alerts during three recent mass emergencies and explore how data can be utilized to inform emergency preparedness and response. Learn more and register at www.rapidsos.com.

Oregon Health Authority (OHA) will host Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) training from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 16-17 (both sessions are required to receive a completion certificate) at the Linn County Expo Center in Albany. CERC training uses Centers for Disease Control and Prevention curriculum to help communicators understand the principals that should be applied to provide the public with information needed to make the best decisions within incredible challenging time constraints. The training is designed for PIOs, health educators, emergency managers, emergency preparedness coordinators and others responsible for developing and conveying public information during a public health emergency. Register at www.eventbrite.com.

The Regional Disaster Preparedness Organization’s Regional Building Disaster Assessment Project is accepting applications to attend a one-day, in-person meeting to learn how other cities that experienced major emergencies completed building safety assessments. The meeting will take place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 17 in Portland. Speakers will including Anchorage Alaska Acting Building Official Ross Noffsinger, who will discuss how they responded to their 2018 earthquake. Tim Lynch, who oversaw the building department’s Emergency Response Units during SuperStorm Sandy (2012) will discuss the response and his experience in the recent earthquakes and hurricanes in Puerto Rico. Laurel Matthews in San Francisco’s resilience office will discuss their programs to retrofit seismically vulnerable buildings like URMs, concrete soft story and more. Learn more and apply at  www.app.smartsheet.com.

OEM's training program is hosting office hours from 9-10 a.m. on May 18. Participants can share progress, goals and future planning for the program. OEM Training Officer Elijah Davis will host the meeting then open it up for questions. Depending on interest for the office hours session, more may be set up in the future. Join on Microsoft Teams at www.teams.microsoft.com (Meeting ID: 224 076 588 906,  Passcode: EodxkS).

OEM’s accounting team will host office hours at 2 p.m. on May 31 to answer questions for submitting and documenting Requests for Reimbursements (RFR) for Hazard Mitigation Assistance grants and allow for discussions and problem-solving as subrecipient awardees work through RFR documentation. Join on Microsoft Teams at www.teams.microsoft.com (Meeting ID: 299 758 424 784, Passcode: R9G3i8).

FEMA’s CERT Promising Practices webinar series focuses on best practices of Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) across Region 10. The webinars highlight ongoing efforts and best practices for engaging within the community. This quarter’s webinar will take place from 6-7 p.m. on May 18 on Zoom and feature additional CERT trainings teams across the region have taught to enhance emergency preparedness skills. Presenters will cover various supplemental trainings such as cribbing, radio use, animal evacuation and more. Register at www.fema.zoomgov.com.

The Climate Change Preparedness Conference 2023 will take place in Washington, DC this coming May 18-20. The three-day event unites climate experts, government officials and policymakers, community organizers, youth leaders, environmental professionals, and other stakeholders from around the country to focus on adaptive solutions to foster climate resilience. Learn more and register at www.ccpconference.com.   

The Office of State Fire Marshal’s 2023 Wildfire Season Staffing Grant application period is open through May 19. The program is allocated $6 million in funding. Funding is available to Oregon fire agencies to hire additional firefighters during the 2023 wildfire season to increase on-duty capacity and allow agencies to mobilize quickly at the local, regional and statewide levels. Oregon's 306 local fire districts and departments with an assigned FDID or Tribal ID# are eligible to apply for up to $35,000. Learn more at www.oregon.gov/osp.

NOAA/National Weather Service Pendleton Office will hold its annual summer outlook webinar at noon on May 24. The webinar will allow participants to share their perspectives on heat and thunderstorms and how these summer hazards impact customers and employees in the height of summer. Slides will be made available afterward for those who can’t attend. Register at www.register.gotowebinar.com.

FEMA’s Office of National Continuity Programs (ONCP), in coordination with FEMA Regions 9 and 10, is offering a series of Regional Continuity Planning Assessment and Technical Assistance workshops from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 31–June 1 at FEMA Region 9 in Oakland, California. Travel costs are the responsibility of the agency. The workshops are a part of a larger effort by ONCP to increase the percentage of comprehensive continuity plans and programs. The goal is to provide participants with valuable information to help increase the continuity capability within their organization. In addition to providing on-site continuity planning expertise, ONCP is seeking to:

• Support whole community proficiency with the principles outlined in the CGC.
• Apply Continuity Assessment Tool (CAT) data and knowledge to improve continuity capabilities across the whole community.
• Identify continuity program and plan areas of strength, gaps and needs.
• Conduct a Business Process Analysis (BPA) practicum to increase stakeholder understanding of the processes necessary to perform essential functions.
• Obtain information about ongoing local, regional, and national continuity initiatives.
• Review the list of technical assistance priorities and findings, based upon available resources and CAT outcomes.
• Provide an opportunity for whole community partners to collaborate with one another to share best practices and lessons learned.

Anyone interested in attending should RSVP to justin.fordice@fema.dhs.gov.

The National CERT Conference will be in San Francisco June 29-July 1 (with pre-conference training from June 26-28). The conference theme is CERT 360°, which will highlight CERT's ability to be flexible as a community resource and serve as an inclusive entity to all community members. The conference will feature training and presentations for all levels of CERT, including emergency managers, program managers, instructors, volunteers and CERT partners. Learn more and register at www.nationalcert.org.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recently published the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 SAFECOM Guidance on Emergency Communications Grants (SAFECOM Guidance). The SAFECOM Guidance is recognized as the primary guidance on emergency communications grants at the federal level and is endorsed by the Oregon State Interoperability Executive Council (SIEC) to help state, local, tribal and territorial governments obtain federal funding for investment in emergency communications projects. SAFECOM Guidance provides information on eligible activities, technical standards, and other terms and conditions that are common to most federal emergency communications grants. It addresses all types of emergency communications, including land mobile radio, data exchange, alerts and warnings, and Internet Protocol-enabled technologies such as public safety broadband and Next Generation 911 systems. Learn more at www.cisa.gov.

DOGAMI and Oregon Department of Emergency Management are aware of new research, recently discussed on multiple media outlets, about an underwater seep off the coast of Newport named Pythia’s Oasis. Pythia’s Oasis, discovered by oceanographers from the University of Washington in 2014, is a seep where water and gas originating from deep under the sea floor have migrated to the surface. This seep is one of many identified along the plate margin. Pythia’s Oasis is estimated to have been active for approximately 1,500 years, during which multiple Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquakes have occurred. DOGAMI scientists are not alarmed by the discovery and do not believe the feature indicates an increased risk of a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake or tsunami. It’s not possible to predict when an earthquake or tsunami will occur, and the discovery of Pythia’s Oasis does not change that. The current understanding of the hazards related to the Cascadia Subduction Zone has not changed due to the discovery of Pythia’s Oasis. Learn more information on DOGAMI’s website at www.oregongeology.org.

The U.S. Small Business Administration is offering low-interest federal disaster loans for economic injury to businesses in Crook, Deschutes, Grant, Harney, Jefferson, Klamath, Lake, Lane, Linn, Marion, Wasco and Wheeler counties. Small nonfarm businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations of any size may qualify for Economic Injury Disaster Loans of up to $2 million to offset economic losses because of reduced revenues caused by drought that began in April. The deadline to apply ranges from Dec. 14 to 21. Learn more and apply at www.disasterloanassistance.sba.gov.

OEM's State 9-1-1 Program had a busy April celebrating the 9-1-1 community around the state. On April 28, members of the team attended the 135th Basic Telecommunications Class graduation ceremony at the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training in Salem. The three-week course includes emergency call handling techniques, stress management, civil liability, ethics, criminal law, an overview of fire rescue and law enforcement operations, and other topics. Upon completion of the course, students return to their employing 9-1-1 center to continue their training for several months with a field training officer.

On April 24, members of the 9-1-1 team traveled to Hillsboro for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and tour of the Washington County Consolidated Communications Agency (WCCCA) to honor its brand-new emergency dispatch center. The newly constructed building is specifically designed to support critical communications technology infrastructure, meet the demand for emergency services and withstand a major earthquake.

One week prior, the team visited the Douglas County Sheriff's Office 9-1-1 facility for a tour and had an opportunity to sit with PSAP leadership and provide program-related guidance. Several members of the 9-1-1 program staff had the honor to sit with telecommunicators and dispatchers as calls were answered, seeing firsthand the outstanding work taking place within Douglas County.

"We really appreciate the opportunity to engage with our partners, share information about the State 9-1-1 Program and find ways to best support them," said OEM State 9-1-1 Program Manager Frank Kuchta. “We’ve enjoyed touring these facilities and visiting with our peers who serve the community during emergencies, along with celebrating the next generation of telecommunicators.”

Oregon is home to 43 9-1-1 centers known as Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP) that cover all 36 counties within the state. Learn more about the State 9-1-1 Program at www.oregon.gov/oem/911.