Per Boulder County Emergency Management post at 3:45 pm on Sep 11 - ""The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office is working on a plan to allow residents to register for a pass to go back into the burn area when specific areas are open for residents to visit their properties. At this time, no decisions have been made about where and when residents should go to register for this purpose, but we will post that information here and send a release to the media immediately when that information is available."
According to the note, "the primary concern at this time is the safety and security of residents going into an area that has experienced devastating impacts from the fire. While the active fire conditions have improved, there remain many obstacles and dangers within the burned area. These include: downed power lines and poles, hot fire spots, infrastructure damage to roads, lack of working utilities, and exposed mine shafts. We also need to make sure we keep open access for emergency personnel and firefighters still working in the area."
Continue to check the Boulder Office of Emergency Management Site for the latest information.
Colorado Volunteer Orgs Active in Disaster - How You Can Help Survivors of the Fourmile Canyon Fire in Boulder
How to Help
- Financial gifts are the best way to help!
- Furthermore, financial support to voluntary agencies responding to this disaster is the most effective way to help
- Cash allows disaster agencies to purchase exactly what is needed.
- To make a financial gift relative to the Fourmile Canyon Fire in Boulder County, call 2-1-1 or 866-760-6489.
First.... DO NOT GO TO THE SCENE OF A DISASTER!
- The arrival of unexpected volunteers will interfere with response efforts. Stay safe by staying out of the way!
- Volunteers will be most needed during the recovery phase. Please be patient and WAIT until relief agencies are ready to use your help.
- If you want to volunteer, call 2-1-1 or 866-760-6489.
- DO NOT donate used clothing or used household items. These items will likely go to waste and get in the way.
- Bulk/palletized donations, requested by relief agencies, are best.
- If you want to make a donation or find out what the current needs in response to the Fourmile Canyon Fire are right now, call 2-1-1 or 866-760-6489.
- Hold a yard sale, put on a fund-raising event, and donate money raised to a voluntary organization responding to this disaster.
- Have you already collected goods but can’t find an agency that needs them? Donate items to a local charitable agency.
Emergency Management Exercise Development Basics
by Tony Reidell, State Exercise Training Coordinator
A recent request of information and support on exercise planning, design and development from a Local Emergency Manager prompted some thought on the current process, local needs and requirements. There is no short answer, but there are a few things to keep in mind when engaged in exercise planning.
If you are just looking for a workable format for injects, our State exercise team can certainly help. We can also probably provide a number of workable injects or even complete Master Scenario Event List (MSEL), depending on the actual scenario. Unfortunately, these templates may not drive the specific "Outcomes" you are looking to attain.
With respect to the planning and development process one of the strengths of the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Planning (HSEEP), at least in my mind, is its' linear organizational structure. If you have already projected a date for the exercise, such as "this fall", you may have subjected yourself to a bit of a time compression. That should not be a major handicap, but it will require some additional management and attention to detail in the short term.
The greatest challenge in the development process is always the Goals & Objectives (G&O) meeting, or Concept & Objectives (C&O) at it is also known. During your G&O meeting the Target Capabilities List (TCL) and the Universal Task List (UTL) are boiled down to those 3 or 4 items you intend to focus on during the exercise. An Initial Planning Conference (IPC) would normally follow within 2 to 3 weeks, but can be rolled-up into the G&O. If this is done, you should allow a minimum of 3 hour to as much as 6 to ensure all meeting objective are met.
A Common mistake is in broadening the exercise evaluation criteria to the point that valid finding and observations from the exercise are lost in the play of the scenario. Drills are intended to work out the grass-root issues. Tabletop Exercises (TTX) are focused on policy and decision-making processes and should be limited in identified scope to prevention, response or recovery. Not all 3 in a single event, the transition within the scenario can all too often be blurred and confusing to participants.
If you are dealing with staff that has never really worked together in a disaster event, you may want to take a look at conducting a seminar. The seminar could be based on the simple question, "How would we come together and work together in an emergency", with the stated purpose of promoting awareness. Seminars are a recognized and often overlooked form of Discussion-Base exercise. Their documentation is little different than any other form of exercise. Seminars are the basic building block of a solid exercise development plan.
A key consideration in the grant and reimbursement process is whether or not you've published a Training and Exercise Calendar. If not, I would highly recommend it and forward that calendar to your Regional Administrator. With Regional and State Training and Planning Workshops (T&EPW) just around the corner the timing is perfect.
You addressed the constraints imposed by the "part-time" status of yourself and your associates. The calendar is probably one of the most under utilized time management tools we have. If we put these events in a multi-year calendar, it forces us to take action. Even if that action is to postpone or cancel the event, it forces us to answer the "Why" question. The many cases the honest answer to why can be as revealing as the exercise itself.
Bottom Line! It's really not all that hard, just take the first step, identify your Goals & Objectives!
Boulder County/OEM Resources - Fourmile Canyon Fire
Fire Information (size, containment status, structures, agencies involved)
U.S. Incident Information Site - INCIWEB - http://inciweb.org/incident/2119/
Local Information (shelters/housing, volunteers/donations and local gov response)
Boulder Emergency Management - http://boulderoem.com/emergency-status
Boulder County (and City) Government - http://www.bouldercounty.org
Boulder Call Center for public inquiries - (303) 413-7730
Boulder County is asking all evacuated residents to contact the County at: edonaghey@bouldercounty.org with full name, address of affected residence, primary or secondary residence, whether they received notification that residence is damage or destroyed, phone number where they can be immediately reached and if they require long-term housing (non-shelter) assistance
Boulder Fire Assistance Center is established at 3482 North Broadway in Boulder
Note: The fire assistance center is not a shelter. It offers services, including mental health, food and basic needs assistance, longer-term housing options, insurance claim advice, medical case management, senior services and coordination with local nonprofits for clothing/special needs. Boulder Fire Assistance Center Number is: (303) 441-3560
Boulder Red Cross Shelter is established at Boulder YMCA, 2850 Mapleton Ave
Volunteer/Donation Management (time/goods/cash) contacts: 211 or (866) 760-6489
Front Range Emergency Management Forum Meeting - 9/8 - CANCELLED
Per Lori Hodges, NCR DEM Manager, the Front Range Emergency Management Forum Meeting scheduled for today, 9/8/10, is CANCELLED.
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