When disaster strikes

RATHDRUM - Artificial"chaos" broke out throughout Kootenai County on Thursday as the setup of a disaster drill.

In the drill scenario, 38 inches of snow had fallen in the county, resulting in collapsed buildings, many crashes, fatalities, stranded residents and power outages.

Several local agencies took that scenario head-on, participating in emergency preparedness exercises.

In Rathdrum, where a command post was set up at the public works department, Mayor Vic Holmes had declared a state of emergency.

A water main broke, and a tipped-over propane truck forced an evacuation of residents in the vicinity.

Amid overseeing city staff, coordinating with firefighters and logging city resources used during the emergency, Holmes received a phone call from a resident on where she should evacuate to.

"Real Life Ministries has been designated as a shelter," he told the woman.

Holmes was then approached by an assertive reporter from The Press who told him the newspaper had been flooded with calls and needed an update on the emergency to relay to the public.

Holmes directed the reporter to Police Chief Kevin Fuhr.

"We speak with one voice," Holmes told the reporter, adding that a press conference had been scheduled and that was when the media would be updated.

Meanwhile, other sites, including the Panhandle Health District, Kootenai Health and the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office, were also buzzing with activity.

The sheriff's office served as the emergency operations center, activated by Kootenai County commissioners to support all of the area agencies involved.

About 100 people participated in the training.

KCSO Lt. Stu Miller said it was good for all of the players who would be involved in an actual disaster response to train together.

"The goal is to test emergency disaster plans and capabilities," Miller said. "There's a lot of different pieces to a countywide plan."

All of the exercises were evaluated.

The recent landslide disaster in Oso, Wash., was a recent regional reminder of why emergency training is critical, Miller said.

Flooding in 2008 and the snowstorm during the winter of 2007-08 were the last times emergencies were declared locally.

Rathdrum received $28,000 in emergency funding as a result of the snowstorm.

"Once I declare a State of Emergency based on facts, the city incurring debt and incidents, emergency funding picks up the cost," Holmes said. "That's why we have to log what we do."

Miller said flooding, snowstorms and wildland fires are the most-likely disasters to devastate Kootenai County.

"You have to constantly test plans to make sure they still work," he said.