Town officials and La Conner area residents spoke at length about local emergency preparations on Saturday, Feb. 8.
Even so, the word “disaster” was used only sparingly.
That was by design.
“We don’t want to use the word ‘disaster,’” La Conner Mayor Marna Hanneman stressed to the public forum’s nearly two dozen attendees. “We don’t want this to come from a place of fear. We just want to be prepared.”
Jerry George, a Town Emergency Management Commissioner who co-facilitated the 90-minute session, was of a like mind.
“We have oversold ‘disaster’ like crazy,” George said. A career journalist, George has written about earthquakes and their impacts for a half-century. “Because of that, people are overwhelmed. They believe they can’t save themselves so, in their everyday lives they just keep on keepin’ on,” he said.
The interactive program on Feb. 8 focused on routine steps individuals and families can take prior to and during emergencies. Those residing in town, Shelter Bay, Swinomish, La Conner School District, and Skagit County Fire District 13 — all entities that have launched emergency preparedness initiatives — were encouraged to participate.
La Conner Emergency Management Commission Chair Doug Asbe shared literature, a slide presentation, and personal accounts demonstrating how people can confidently “prepare for trouble.”
Asbe showed items he keeps in an emergency supply bag, including a flashlight, head lamp, pocketknife, toilet paper, first aid kit, meal rations, non-electric can opener, sunscreen, cell phone charging cord, and batteries, to name a few. All things that can be easily accessed in case of an emergency.
“Our recommendation,” George said, “is that you go through your house and inventory what you have.”
“The worst-case scenario,” Asbe added, “is when your house can’t be entered, and you can’t get your car out of the garage.”
Asbe provided copies of a booklet called “Prepare in a Year” that advises people to invest one hour of emergency planning and practice each month. The 18-page guide, created by the Washington State Department of Emergency Management Division, addresses communications, steps to develop a family action plan, storing water, supplying a ‘grab and go’ kit, protecting important documents, fire and utilities safety, and sheltering-in-place, among other topics.
Practice, in this instance, truly makes perfect, insisted La Conner resident Mollie Rights.
“It helps to practice,” Rights said. “We lived on the Makah Reservation for 10 years and each year we practiced a tsunami evacuation. It makes a difference. In an emergency, you’re going to be anxious, and your brain won’t be working normally.”
The Emergency Management Commission that both George and Asbe are members of, drafted a Town Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan aka CEMP. It includes a risk analysis for potential emergency scenarios in La Conner.
The CEMP lists flooding as a top concern. In fact, it was a severe tidal flood two years ago that led to the formation of the local emergency management board.
“I don’t want to spend much time on tsunamis,” George said. The odds of a tsunami reaching Swinomish Channel and the La Conner waterfront are much less, he said..
What George did spend time on was the concept of neighborhood mapping, which encourages groups of 15-20 households to compile information on the specific needs and skills of their residents. He said that information can be of great help to emergency first responders.
The process maps every home in a neighborhood, identifying the residents and the locations of gas and water meters as well as electric shutoffs.
Nancy White of the Pull-and-Be Damned Road area on Swinomish Reservation said neighborhood mapping has begun there. She shared they have created a method of communication that protects personal information.
Discussing public interest in emergency management, White noted that people are eager to do something, whether to prepare for severe weather, wildland fires, windstorms, earthquakes, or other potential hazards.
The local emergency preparedness meetings will continue at the library on a bi-monthly basis through the summer. The next one is scheduled for 10 a.m. April 12.
Asbe said he can’t emphasize enough the importance of individual household emergency preparation.
“Ultimately,” Asbe said, “the first people you’ll get help from are your neighbors. There are people out there who will help but they’ll need to take care of their own families first.”
For more emergency preparedness information or details on how to obtain a printed copy of the Prepare in a Year planning booklet, contact La Conner Town Administrator Scott Thomas at 360-466-3125.
