Emergency Management
SKAGIT COUNTY I. INTRODUCTION A. Mission To provide the emergency organization, and resources to minimize loss of life, protect property and the environment within unincorporated Skagit County and the incorporated cities/towns of Anacortes, Burlington, Concrete, Hamilton, La Conner, Lyman, Mount Vernon, and Sedro-Woolley in the event of natural, human-caused, or technological emergencies and/or disasters. B. Purpose This plan will facilitate restoration of basic government operations following disasters as defined in the Skagit County Hazard Vulnerability Analysis. This plan will establish appropriate governmental response and recovery actions to emergencies and disasters, within unincorporated Skagit County and the incorporated cities/towns of Anacortes, Burlington, Concrete, Hamilton, La Conner, Lyman, Mount Vernon, and Sedro-Woolley. C. Scope This plan is applicable to the government organizations of Skagit County and the cities/towns of Anacortes, Burlington, Concrete, Hamilton, La Conner, Lyman, Mount Vernon, and Sedro-Woolley. This plan details emergency management responsibilities of county and city/town government and speaks to what those organizations can and cannot provide. D. Organization RCW 38.52.070 directs the establishment of a local organization for emergency management in accordance with the State Emergency Management Plan and Program. Emergency Management in Skagit County is organized as shown in Appendix 1, Skagit County Emergency Management Organizational/Operational Chart. The Skagit County Emergency Management Organization is comprised of all member county/city/town officers and employees together with those volunteer forces enrolled to aid them during an emergency or disaster, and all groups, organizations and persons who may by agreement or operation of law, including persons secured under the provisions of Skagit County Ordinance #8859, Section IX (C), charged with duties incident to the protection of life and property during an emergency or disaster. The County Commissioners and Mayors of the member cities/towns shall represent Skagit County and member cities and towns on the Skagit Emergency Management Council. The Council is empowered to review and recommend for adoption emergency preparedness and mutual aid plans and agreements and such resolutions and rules and regulations as are necessary to implement such plans and agreements. The Council shall meet at least twice annually or upon call of the chairperson or vice-chairperson. The Skagit County Department of Emergency Management, under the direction of the Skagit Emergency Management Council, has the responsibility of coordinating the disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation efforts under the direction and control of member local governments. The Director of the Skagit County Department of Emergency Management is an ex-officio member of the Council and shall administer the agency. II. POLICIES A. Authorities This plan is developed, promulgated, and maintained under the following local, State and Federal statutes and regulations:
B. Assignment of Responsibilities Skagit County government has the primary responsibility for disaster mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery for unincorporated Skagit County. Municipal governments are responsible for providing such services within their jurisdictions, except where contracts or agreements with Skagit County are in place for such services. Special purpose jurisdictions (dike districts, drainage districts, fire districts, hospital districts, port districts, school districts, sewer districts, water districts) and Indian Tribes are also responsible for providing such services within their jurisdictions, except where contracts or agreements with Skagit County are in place for such services. This plan presents the functional responsibilities accepted by designated county, city, and town agencies and other organizations. Emergency Support Functions (ESF’s) or specific areas of responsibility have also been established to designate mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery activities for specific emergency management functions. C. Limitations Skagit County and the cities/towns of Anacortes, Burlington, Concrete, Hamilton, La Conner, Lyman, Mount Vernon, and Sedro-Woolley will endeavor to make every reasonable effort to respond in the event of an emergency or disaster based upon the situation, information, and resources available at the time of the emergency or disaster. No guarantee of a perfect response system is expressed or implied by this plan or any of its Appendices, ESF’s, Implementing Instructions, Procedures, or Guidelines. County/city/town assets and systems are vulnerable to natural, human-caused, and technological disaster events and may be overwhelmed. County/city/town employees will be concerned about the care of their families and personal possessions. They may be unavailable to support emergency or disaster response activities if they must make a choice between their personal and professional lives. In the event of severe devastation throughout the Puget Sound Region and/or Skagit County, fundamental resources such as water, food, first-aid supplies, utilities, fuels, shelter and sanitation supplies, and basic survival supplies may be needed. Skagit County and the cities/towns of Anacortes, Burlington, Concrete, Hamilton, La Conner, Lyman, Mount Vernon, and Sedro-Woolley do not have sufficient supplies and equipment on hand for long term use. The arrival of State and/or Federal assistance may be delayed for several days after the occurrence. The disaster response and recovery activities of Skagit County and the cities/towns of Anacortes, Burlington, Concrete, Hamilton, La Conner, Lyman, Mount Vernon, and Sedro-Woolley Governments may be limited by:
III. SITUATION A. Emergency/Disaster Conditions and Hazards Emergencies or disasters could occur in Skagit County at any time causing significant human suffering, injury and death, public and private property damage, environmental degradation, loss of essential services, economic hardship to businesses, families and individuals, and disruption to local, state, Native American governments, and other governmental entities. The potential exists for emergencies or disasters occurring outside of Skagit County to negatively affect the county and the cities/towns of Anacortes, Burlington, Concrete, Hamilton, La Conner, Lyman, Mount Vernon, and Sedro-Woolley. The possibility exists that Skagit County first responders may be victims of the emergency or disaster and situation and response efforts could be greatly compromised. Should such an event occur within Skagit County, the Department of Emergency Management would request assistance from San Juan, Snohomish, and Whatcom Counties via a mutual aid agreement signed by San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish and Whatcom Counties. If a large scale event occurs and mutual aid is not available from San Juan, Snohomish, and/or Whatcom Counties, Skagit County will request assistance from other local, state, and federal agencies through the Washington State Military Department, Division of Emergency Management. Because of its location on the western slope of the Cascade Mountains and its proximity to the Strait of Georgia and Puget Sound, Skagit County is vulnerable to the effects of natural, human-caused, and technological hazards. Natural hazards are defined as events that are caused by nature such as floods, severe weather events, landslides, forest fires, earthquakes, tsunamis and seiches, and volcanic activity. Human-caused hazards are defined as events that are caused by people such as transportation accidents, hazardous materials releases, riots, and acts of terrorism. Technological hazards are defined as events that are caused by facility, equipment, or technological processes failures such as downed aircraft, dam failures, communications failures, and energy emergencies. A risk analysis of Skagit County has been conducted utilizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s "Capability And Hazard Identification Program For Local Jurisdictions". The Department of Emergency Management maintains a Hazard Vulnerability Analysis for Skagit County. Both of these documents are published as separate documents. B. Planning Assumptions This plan assumes that after an emergency or disaster has occurred that: a safe location can be found for coordination of response and recovery activities; resources are available; and trained personnel exist to establish authority and to implement plans and procedures. Special purpose jurisdictions will develop mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery planning capabilities for their own jurisdictions. The Skagit County Commissioners may respond with county resources to requests for assistance from cities/towns and special purpose jurisdictions when lives or property are at stake, and resources permit. The Skagit County Commissioners and the Mayors of the cities/towns of Anacortes, Burlington, Concrete, Hamilton, La Conner, Lyman, Mount Vernon, and Sedro-Woolley may choose to invoke the emergency powers granted to them under RCW 38.52.070. Skagit County and the cities/towns of Anacortes, Burlington, Concrete, Hamilton, La Conner, Lyman, Mount Vernon, and Sedro-Woolley do not have a common communications system to address all disaster needs, and communications will be a problem in any major emergency or disaster. Some emergencies or disasters will occur with enough warning that appropriate notification will be achieved to ensure some level of preparation. Other situations will occur with no advanced warning. Skagit County and the cities/towns of Anacortes, Burlington, Concrete, Hamilton, La Conner, Lyman, Mount Vernon and Sedro-Woolley rely on the use of the Emergency Alert System (EAS), mobile sirens, and door-to-door contact to warn the public. Depending upon the type and severity of the emergency or disaster, the use of these warning systems may be severely limited. Skagit County and the cities/towns of Anacortes, Burlington, Concrete, Hamilton, La Conner, Lyman, Mount Vernon and Sedro-Woolley will be unable to satisfy all emergency resource requests during a major emergency, disaster, or catastrophic event. Skagit County residents, businesses and industry, and governmental agencies will need to utilize their own resources and be self-sufficient following a disaster event for a minimum of three days and most likely, much longer. Priority of response will be to life safety, protection of critical facilities, protection of property, and the environment. Re-establishment of government functions and basic infrastructure (transportation, utilities, and economy) will be critical to returning to a normal situation. Skagit County and the cities/towns of Anacortes, Burlington, Concrete, Hamilton, La Conner, Lyman, Mount Vernon and Sedro-Woolley as well as various relief agencies will concentrate limited resources on the most critical and life-threatening problems. Due to transportation limitations, disaster response services and supporting resources will be those locally available for the initial three days or more after the occurrence. Emergency medical facilities will be overloaded and a shortage of supplies will exist. Communications systems will be overloaded and may suffer physical disruption and/or staffing problems. Shortages of emergency response personnel will exist, creating the need for auxiliary fire, law enforcement, emergency medical, search and rescue, and public works personnel. Private sector support will be needed to augment government disaster response and recovery efforts. Disasters occurring near or across jurisdictional borders will require multi-jurisdictional coordination, communications, and/or response. Human-caused and technological emergencies or disasters may occur at any time. The initial response to these types of incidents at fixed facilities will be by first responders who may be assisted by public works as well as the responsible business/industry. Depending upon the type, size, and location of incident, and the level of training of local first responders, outside resources with additional expertise and/or training may be needed to properly deal with the emergency or disaster. An enemy or terrorist attack upon the United States is considered possible. Although specific attack objectives cannot be predicted, it is assumed that military and governmental centers as well as concentrations of industry and population will be principal targets. In acts of terrorism it is unlikely that warning will be issued. The first terrorist event may serve to warn other areas. Skagit County and the cities/towns of Anacortes, Burlington, Concrete, Hamilton, La Conner, Lyman, Mount Vernon, and Sedro-Woolley are encouraged, to the best of their ability, to comply with the intent of RCW 38.52 and as a minimum, will plan to: Support county/city/town response and recovery efforts and assist in staffing the Skagit County EOC, city/town EOC (or Command Post) to the best of their abilities as part of an assigned responsibility or ESF, as listed in this plan. Coordinate with the Skagit County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and issue emergency proclamations when deemed appropriate. Communicate with the Skagit County EOC regarding the status of response and recovery activities during or following any emergency or disaster. Provide situation reports to convey requests for assistance, damage assessment, and preliminary damage estimates of their operational capabilities, equipment, and facilities.
IV. CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS A. General The Skagit County EOC is the focal point of the emergency management organization for Skagit County and the cities/towns of Anacortes, Burlington, Concrete, Hamilton, La Conner, Lyman, Mount Vernon, and Sedro-Woolley. Each city/town is encouraged to utilize the EOC concept to manage response and recovery activities within city/town boundaries and to better coordinate response and recovery efforts with the Skagit County EOC. Upon the activation of the Skagit County EOC or a city/town EOC, the EOC manager shall notify the Skagit Emergency Communications (E 9-1-1) Center of the EOC activation and provide the Skagit Emergency Communications (E 9-1-1) Center with the appropriate telephone number(s) and two-way radio frequency to enable communications between On-Scene Incident Commander(s) and the Skagit Emergency Communications (E 9-1-1) Center with EOC staff. Prior to a disaster, the Department of Emergency Management, as well as various county/city/town departments/offices and special purpose jurisdictions, will prioritize and carry out mitigation and/or preparedness activities. During emergency or disaster events, the Skagit County EOC staff will include representatives from various county departments/offices as needed, and selected representatives of other support agencies within the county. During large events, liaison personnel from a variety of agencies/organizations such as selected counties/cities/towns, the Washington State Military Department, and federal agencies may be located in the Skagit County EOC. Support agencies may consist of: law enforcement, fire, emergency medical, and public works agencies; special purpose jurisdictions; utilities and industry; and various volunteer organizations like the American Red Cross and Salvation Army. The Director of the Skagit County Department of Emergency Management is responsible to the Skagit Emergency Management Council for carrying out the program for emergency management of Skagit County and the cities/towns of Anacortes, Burlington, Concrete, Hamilton, La Conner, Lyman, Mount Vernon, and Sedro-Woolley. The Director or his/her designee, assisted by Department of Emergency Management staff, EOC staff, and/or city/town officials, shall coordinate the activities of all organizations for emergency management within Skagit County and the cities/towns of Anacortes, Burlington, Concrete, Hamilton, La Conner, Lyman, Mount Vernon, and Sedro-Woolley and shall maintain liaison with, and cooperate with, emergency management agencies and organizations of neighboring counties, the State of Washington and/or the Federal Government. Emergencies or disasters affecting a single jurisdiction should be coordinated from the affected jurisdictions’ EOC or a Command Post. Overall coordination of response and recovery activities to emergencies or disasters affecting multiple jurisdictions will be conducted at the Skagit County EOC. The Board of County Commissioners/Mayors are responsible, by law, for emergency management operations in their respective jurisdictions but will also function together under this plan as the Skagit Emergency Management Council. When an emergency or disaster is imminent or has occurred, local governments, having primary responsibility, will respond to preserve life, property and the environment and to reduce the effects of the situation and to recover from it. Local officials will implement emergency statutes and ordinances and will mobilize and commit county/city/town resources to conduct response and recovery activities to the best of their ability. B. Emergency Management Concepts Protection of life, property, and the environment are the primary concerns of county/city/town government. Local governments are mandated by law and special purpose jurisdictions are advised to perform emergency management functions within their jurisdictional boundaries. Local government may conduct such functions outside such territorial limits as may be required pursuant to RCW 38.52 as amended, and current resolutions, ordinances, and mutual-aid agreements. The Emergency Management organization of member jurisdictions is composed of all agencies assigned responsibilities. The Board of County Commissioners/Mayors have the ultimate responsibility for the operations of their organizations. The organization acts in accordance with this plan and agency Suggested Operating Guidelines (SOG's). The government of Skagit County and the cities/towns of Anacortes, Burlington, Concrete, Hamilton, La Conner, Lyman, Mount Vernon, and Sedro-Woolley and their employees, augmented by trained reserves, volunteers, and appointed emergency management officials, will take all possible action to respond to the effects of a disaster and expedite response and recovery. Top priority will be the preservation of human life. The elected and appointed county/city/town officials, departments and offices as well as supporting organizations, agencies, or individuals, will retain their identity and autonomy but will function under this plan as an emergency organization under the direction of the Skagit Emergency Management Council. The essential services of the emergency organization will be coordinated through the Skagit County EOC and/or the appropriate city/town EOC. Emergency operations may be conducted on a 24-hour basis, as required. At the request of the Department of Emergency Management, county/city/town departments/offices will provide personnel to the Skagit County EOC or appropriate city/town EOC to assist in managing response and recovery activities. The chief official of each county/city/town government department/office is responsible for providing qualified and trained personnel to the EOC and to their representative organizations to carry out essential activities assigned. Individuals representing agencies who are staffing the EOC must have extensive knowledge of the resources and capabilities of their respective agency and have access to the appropriate authority for committing such resources during response and recovery operations. Supervisors and employees will use department/office plans and procedures when carrying out essential activities necessary to the accomplishment of responsibilities assigned to county/city/town government departments/offices. Other governmental entities within the county are responsible for ensuring effective operations and using all available resources, including mutual-aid, to manage the emergency within their respective jurisdictions prior to requesting assistance from Skagit County government. Normal, day-to-day organizational structures and chains of command will be maintained insofar as possible in government and supporting agencies. When mutual-aid is requested, the responsible requesting organization will be in charge unless the specific mutual-aid agreements direct otherwise. Upon activation of the Skagit County EOC, all public information disseminated to the news media and citizens will be coordinated with the Skagit County Public Information Officer or the Joint Information Center (JIC), if established, to ensure release of compatible and accurate information. During emergency incidents that do not require the activation of the Skagit County EOC, public information may be disseminated to the media through the County Commissioners, Mayors, Agency Public Information Officer(s), On-Scene Incident Commander(s), and the Director of Emergency Management, or their designees. The Department of Emergency Management will utilize volunteers in accordance with the rules and regulations as outlined in RCW 38.52.010. Emergency Management Mission Numbers will be requested from the Washington State Military Department, Emergency Management Division for all response actions intended to protect life, property, and the environment during emergencies or disasters. Mission Numbers are intended to provide liability coverage for registered emergency management workers while they are engaged in relevant emergency related response and recovery activities. When a threat to life, property and/or the environment exists and it is determined that the resources of Skagit County and/or the cities/towns of Anacortes, Burlington, Concrete, Hamilton, La Conner, Lyman, Mount Vernon and Sedro-Woolley (including all mutual-aid) are inadequate, outside resources will be requested through the Washington State Military Department, Emergency Management Division. The Washington National Guard’s mission is, in part, to provide military support to civil authorities for the preservation of life, prevention of human suffering, and restoration of public services during state emergencies, or on order of the Governor. A Proclamation of Emergency by the Governor is a prerequisite to the complete activation and utilization of the Washington National Guard. Washington National Guard resources are considered supplemental not only to local resources but supplemental to other state resources, which will be provided first. Washington National Guard Activation Process:
For additional information, refer to Chapter 7, Disaster Assistance Guide for Local Governments, published as a separate document. C. Direction and Control The purpose of direction and control is to provide for the effective supervision, authority, and cooperative functioning of emergency management activities undertaken with this plan and to ensure the continued operation of government during and after emergencies and/or disasters. EOC staff will prioritize response and recovery objectives and allocate resources to the On-Scene Incident Commander(s). On-Scene Incident Commander(s) will direct response and recovery operations in the field. On-Scene Incident Commander(s) will provide Situation Reports to the Skagit County EOC or appropriate city/town EOC on a regular basis and will request additional resources (if needed) through the EOC. The initial Situation Report from the On-Scene Incident Commander(s) should be transmitted to the appropriate EOC within 1 hour of EOC activation. Subsequent Situation Reports should be transmitted to the appropriate EOC at 0600 Hours and 1800 Hours daily, or as requested by the EOC Manager. Situation Reports should include the following information:
D. Emergency Operations Facilities The primary Skagit County EOC is located at 2911 East College Way, Mount Vernon, Washington. An alternate EOC has not been identified at this time. An alternate EOC and/or command posts will be utilized if necessary and determined by the location, size, severity, and level of damage of emergency or disaster event(s). E. Financial Management Emergency expenditures are not normally integrated into the budgeting process of local governments. Nevertheless, disasters occur on a periodic basis requiring substantial and necessary unanticipated obligations and expenditures. Local political subdivisions will incur emergency and/or disaster-related obligations and expenditures in accordance with the provisions of RCW 38.52.070(2). Under the provisions of RCW 36.40.180 and RCW 35.33.081, county/city/town officials may make emergency expenditures without notice or hearing. RCW 36.40.180 Emergencies subject to hearing – Nondebatable emergencies. "Upon the happening of any emergency caused by fire, flood, explosion, storm, earthquake, epidemic, riot, or insurrection, or for the immediate preservation of order or of public health or for the restoration to a condition of usefulness of any public property the usefulness of which has been destroyed by accident, of for the relief of a stricken community overtaken by a calamity, or in settlement of approved claims for personal injuries or property damages, exclusive of claims arising from the operation of any public utility owned by the county, or to meet mandatory expenditures required by any law, the board of county commissioners may, upon the adoption by the unanimous vote of the commissioners present at any meeting the time and place of which all of such commissioners have had reasonable notice, of a resolution stating the facts constituting the emergency and entering the same upon their minutes, make the expenditures necessary to meet such emergency without further notice of hearing." RCW 35.33.081 Emergency expenditures – Nondebatable emergencies. "Under the happening of any emergency caused by violence of nature, casualty, riot, insurrection, war, or other unanticipated occurrence requiring the immediate preservation of order or public health, or for the restoration to a condition of usefulness of any public property which has been damaged or destroyed by accident, or for public relief from calamity, or in settlement of approved claims for personal injuries or property damages, or to meet mandatory expenditures required by laws enacted since the last annual budget was adopted, or to cover expenses incident to preparing for or establishing a new form of government authorized or assumed after the adoption of the current budget, including any expenses incident to selection of additional of new officials required thereby, or incident to employee recruitment at any time, the city or town legislative body, upon the adoption of an ordinance, by the vote of one more than the majority of all members of the legislative body, stating the facts constituting the emergency and the estimated amount required to meet it, may make the expenditures, therefore, without notice or hearing." Payment of emergency warrants will be performed as outlined in RCW 36.40.190 and RCW 35.33.101. RCW 36.40.190 Payment of emergency warrants. "All emergency expenditures shall be paid for by the issuance of emergency warrants which shall be paid from any moneys on hand in the county treasury in the fund properly chargeable therewith and the county treasurer shall pay such warrants out of any moneys in the treasury in such fund. If at any time there are insufficient moneys on hand in the treasury to pay any of such warrants, they shall be registered, bear interest and be called in the manner provided by law for other county warrants." RCW 35.33.101 Emergency warrants. "All expenditures for emergency purposes as provided in this chapter shall be paid by warrants from any available money in the fund properly chargeable with such expenditures. If, at any time, there is insufficient money on hand in a fund with which to pay such warrants as presented, the warrants shall be registered, bear interest and be called in the same manner as other registered warrants as prescribed in RCW 35.33.111." Records will be kept in such a manner that disaster related expenditures and obligations of the county/city/town can be readily identified from regular or general programs and activities. Complete and accurate records are necessary to document requests for assistance and to provide for reimbursement. To establish an audit record, detailed records will be kept from the onset of the disaster, including but not limited to:
* Under the provisions of RCW 38.52.070(2), competitive bidding is not required under an extreme emergency situation. V. RESPONSIBILITIES Role of Federal Government The Federal Government, through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), shall provide assistance in a timely manner to save lives and to protect property. Federal response will be organized through the use of the Federal Response Plan to facilitate the delivery of all types of Federal response assistance to States to help them deal with the consequences of significant emergencies and disasters. Further responsibilities are detailed in ESF-16, State and Federal Support. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Washington State Military Department, Emergency Management Division act as funnels for information, funding, and disaster assistance. Role of State Government Washington State, through its Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP), and Emergency Operations Center, shall coordinate all emergency management activities of the state to protect lives and property of the people and preserve the environment. Further, it will take appropriate actions to mitigate the effects of, prepare for, respond to, and recover from the impacts of emergencies or disasters. State government departments are responsible for providing various services such as specialized skills, equipment, and resources in support of state and local government emergency operations. Further responsibilities are detailed in ESF-16, State and Federal Support. Role of Local Government The following are basic responsibilities for emergency management operations provided by and through the Skagit Emergency Management Council. Detailed responsibilities and essential activities are found in the appropriate Emergency Support Functions (ESF’s) and appendices to this document. Department level operating procedures detail how individual departments shall perform their responsibilities. Various response agencies are responsible for their own communications systems. |