MISSOULA — With the devastating fires in California, many of us have emergency preparedness on the mind. Adriane Beck, director of Missoula County’s Office of Emergency Management, took MTN through the County’s disaster response plans.
“Missoula is not experiencing what California is and I really hope that we never do. Our hearts go out to that community and those that are impacted,” Beck said. “But, wildfire is a very real risk that we face.”
Missoula County stretches far, ranging from busy, city streets to rural areas. For emergency professionals, this leaves a lot of ground to cover.
No matter the season, Beck and her colleagues at the Office of Emergency Management are always planning. They handle everything from daily emergencies, at their 911 call center, to long-term disaster preparations.
“Part of what we do in emergency management is what we call ‘blue sky days.’ We're planning for all kinds of things to happen,” she said.
Even when the sky is clear and disaster seems far off, the County has lots of plans.
“There's not a specific plan for a fire in a specific drainage, but more of how are we going to organize? Who is going to be at the table?” Beck said.
Much more than any one specific drainage, they coordinate resources, evacuations and preparations across Missoula County.
“Look at the Community Wildfire Protection Plan to kind of see where that risk exists in the County," she said. "But, I can tell you that that risk exists just about everywhere in the County at some degree. We had our own windstorm this past summer that, had we had fires start in that storm, would've been a very different situation.”
The County has specialists who can help homeowners assess and even improve fire risk. While these are vital, Beck recommends that residents get proactive, sign up for emergency alerts and make their own personal disaster plan.
“We always tell people that are in these fire-prone areas to start thinking about what you would do if you were evacuated and create your own personal plan,” Beck said. “Having that conversation on a ‘blue sky day’ or around the dinner table about, ‘Hey, you know, let's just think about if we couldn't be at home, what are the things that we absolutely would need to have?’”
