County hazard plan reviewed

It is always good to have a plan in place in case there is ever a dangerous situation or emergency. That’s just what Sanders County aims to do by updating and outlining their multi-hazard mitigation plan. The 2019 update to the plan is still in the draft stage and has yet to be finalized. This time around, drafting has taken nine months with an estimated finalization for late July or August. Having a multi-hazard mitigation plan in place is required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to keep Sanders County eligible for mitigation funding when there is a disaster. There are updates made to the plan every five years.

Daphne Digrindakis, the contractor developing the mitigation plan, presented a slideshow outlining the top eight hazards for the county and what efforts are being made to prevent or handle those hazards. The hazards were ranked on the severity of damage to property or infrastructure as well as possible fatalities. Number one on the list was wildfires, which was also number one in the previous plan. The plan includes promoting additional training opportunities to firefighters, helping fire departments purchase equipment through available grants, and updating water supply in communities to more effectively assist in wildfire suppression.

Next on the list was a haz-mat incident. For this situation, the plan outlined encouraging local emergency responders to acquire the correct training in order to respond to hazardous material events. Increasing awareness of what types of hazardous materials are most commonly transported is also important as well as conducting awareness training in schools on haz-mat exposure.

Number three on the list was severe weather and drought. To be best prepared, the plan includes continuing to provide educational information on winter weather survival. Management of de-icing roads, plowing snow, clearing roads of fallen trees, and clearing debris from public property is also important. Flooding landed at number four on the list and the plan outlined that it is important to educate homeowners on the importance of flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program.

The rest of the ranked hazards were: 5, terrorism, violence, civil unrest and cyber security; 6, communicable disease mitigation; 7, landslide preparedness; and 8, dam failure.

You can review the plan online at http://www.countypdm.com under the Sanders County tab with the password “Thompson Falls.” The website also includes additional resources such as time-tracking, mitigation strategies and the planning process to get more insight into what went into the plans update.