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Source: http://www.mohavedailynews.com/artic...cal/local5.txt
Committee meets to plan for disasters
By JIM SECKLER/The Daily News
Saturday, June 7, 2008 11:21 PM CDT
KINGMAN - Ongoing planning for a major disaster in Mohave County or elsewhere in the state will be discussed Tuesday afternoon by a county planning committee.
The Mohave County Local Emergency Planning Committee will meet to plan on scenarios including terrorist attacks on Phoenix, airplane tragedies at the Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport, avian flu pandemics or a disastrous wildfire, Mohave County Emergency Management Coordinator Byron Steward said.
The committee will look at a planned October exercise at the Bullhead City airport, possibly involving an aircraft accident, Steward said.
The committee will also hear a report on an exercise in La Paz County, ironically involving a real life accident the week before. Mohave County first responders joined first responders in La Paz County on an exercise involving a chlorine leak from an overturn truck. The week before the exercise, a truck crash spilled chlorine on the California side of the Colorado River.
Steward also said a final draft of a community wildfire protection plan will soon be completed with the draft available for public input for about a month. The draft would then go before the county supervisors for approval possibly by this summer. The goal is to identify fire threats to a community, which areas have a higher risk of a devastating wildfire and to take measures to lessen the threats of a wildfire to homeowners.
Other topics to be discussed is an update on avian flu pandemic planning, a plan to provide for people with special needs in the event of a disaster, the impact of the drought on the county and county Boy Scouts troops will report on fire safety in the Hualapai Mountains.
The committee will also look at a Phoenix metro area evacuation plan. Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano initiated the plan coordinated by the Arizona Department of Transportation for other Arizona counties in the event of a disaster that strikes the Phoenix metro area. Mohave County would need to plan for handling Phoenix evacuees traveling through the county.
The committee, which meets quarterly and rotates between the three cities, may also link up by video conferencing between the Mohave County cities to eliminate driving time for committee members. The sheriff's office in Kingman is currently linked to the Lake Havasu City Police Department. Plans are to link the sheriff's office up with the Bullhead City 911 dispatch center, Steward said.
Officials say Mohave County is susceptible to a number of terrorist threats or natural disasters, including an attack on Davis Dam or Hoover Dam. Disasters in Las Vegas or Southern California could also lead to a mass exodus of people to the county. Where to house and feed those people are major issues facing the county.
The emergency planning committee meets at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Mohave County Public Works Department, 3675 Andy Devine Ave., Kingman.
Committee meets to plan for disasters
By JIM SECKLER/The Daily News
Saturday, June 7, 2008 11:21 PM CDT
KINGMAN - Ongoing planning for a major disaster in Mohave County or elsewhere in the state will be discussed Tuesday afternoon by a county planning committee.
The Mohave County Local Emergency Planning Committee will meet to plan on scenarios including terrorist attacks on Phoenix, airplane tragedies at the Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport, avian flu pandemics or a disastrous wildfire, Mohave County Emergency Management Coordinator Byron Steward said.
The committee will look at a planned October exercise at the Bullhead City airport, possibly involving an aircraft accident, Steward said.
The committee will also hear a report on an exercise in La Paz County, ironically involving a real life accident the week before. Mohave County first responders joined first responders in La Paz County on an exercise involving a chlorine leak from an overturn truck. The week before the exercise, a truck crash spilled chlorine on the California side of the Colorado River.
Steward also said a final draft of a community wildfire protection plan will soon be completed with the draft available for public input for about a month. The draft would then go before the county supervisors for approval possibly by this summer. The goal is to identify fire threats to a community, which areas have a higher risk of a devastating wildfire and to take measures to lessen the threats of a wildfire to homeowners.
Other topics to be discussed is an update on avian flu pandemic planning, a plan to provide for people with special needs in the event of a disaster, the impact of the drought on the county and county Boy Scouts troops will report on fire safety in the Hualapai Mountains.
The committee will also look at a Phoenix metro area evacuation plan. Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano initiated the plan coordinated by the Arizona Department of Transportation for other Arizona counties in the event of a disaster that strikes the Phoenix metro area. Mohave County would need to plan for handling Phoenix evacuees traveling through the county.
The committee, which meets quarterly and rotates between the three cities, may also link up by video conferencing between the Mohave County cities to eliminate driving time for committee members. The sheriff's office in Kingman is currently linked to the Lake Havasu City Police Department. Plans are to link the sheriff's office up with the Bullhead City 911 dispatch center, Steward said.
Officials say Mohave County is susceptible to a number of terrorist threats or natural disasters, including an attack on Davis Dam or Hoover Dam. Disasters in Las Vegas or Southern California could also lead to a mass exodus of people to the county. Where to house and feed those people are major issues facing the county.
The emergency planning committee meets at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Mohave County Public Works Department, 3675 Andy Devine Ave., Kingman.