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Cascadia Rising – A reminder to get ready
A four-day exercise for emergency response planners next week will test communications and other preparations in place in the event of a large scale earthquake and tsunami. Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue Chief Jim Langborg says while the drill won’t directly involve the public, it’s a very good time to look at your own preparations. He suggests taking a “two-stage” approach. The first is preparing for the immediate aftermath.
Jim Langborg – “A grab and go is something you should keep in your car. It should be enough to get you by for about 72 hours. Food, water, warmth, basic needs type of things.”
The second stage would be for the longer term; preparing for as long as three weeks. Langborg said he and his wife keep their plans simple.
Jim Langborg – “We just try and stock up on our food, on our canned goods. And then have things in locations that we know we can get to, that would stay dry; tents, sleeping bags, some basic sheltering things, some extra fuel.”
Langborg, along with other emergency planners will talk about the “Cascadia Rising” training exercise on this week’s Our Town on Coast Radio… It airs Wednesday from four to six on KCST 106.9 FM, then Thursday morning from ten until noon on KCFM 104.1 FM.
SOS wins funds to aid victims
A nearly $70-thousand grant will help Siuslaw Outreach Services enhance services to victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.
SOS executive director David Wiegan said the grant, awarded this week, comes from fines for federal crimes under the Victims of Crime Act.
Wiegan says his organization provided advocacy services to 197 victims in 2015. Those services included shelter, emergency aid, transportation and access to legal aid. Some of the money SOS will receive over the next 15 months will pay for a vehicle used to transport victims and their families; repairs to a shelter home; and other things.
Weather could be unseasonably warmer
Things could heat up in Western Oregon this weekend. After some cooler and damp weather in the next couple days, forecasters say record high temperatures could be in store for the coast and locations inland.
The long term forecast for Friday night through Monday shows an upper level ridge of high pressure moving in and stalling over the Coast Range and the upper Willamette Valley. That is likely to bring temperatures in the lower to mid 90s according to forecasters who say record high temperatures could be in store.
The thermal trough may begin “sliding” east into the Cascades by later Sunday, bringing cooler air to the coast.
Coast Guard City status sought
Florence Mayor Joe Henry is asking area residents and business owners to join him in expressing support for members of the U.S. Coast Guard Siuslaw River Station. He said the 34 active duty personnel stationed here, along with their families, “make a significant contribution to our community” in more than one way. He added that contribution is often not recognized.
Henry said he is planning on showing support for Coast Guard men and women locally in a couple of ways.
The first is by working to organize a Coast Guard Appreciation Dinner. The second is by working to achieve official “Coast Guard City” status for Florence. The Florence City Council recently approved a resolution seeking the status. One part of the application is the submission of letters of support from the community. Those letters, he said, can be sent to him at City Hall… more information on the effort can be found at the City of Florence website.
Armed Shooter Drill planned for schools Saturday
An exercise aimed a testing the preparedness, coordination and response of local agencies in response to an “active shooter” at area schools will take place in Florence Saturday morning.
Florence Police and several other law enforcement agencies will converge on Siuslaw Middle School Saturday morning. They’ll be responding to a hypothetical armed shooter, roaming the hallways. Volunteers have been secured to play various roles, mostly of students; and medical response personnel will be participating as well.
The drill is organized by the West Lane Emergency Operations Group. Megan Messmer with the City of Florence says it is not open to the public. Because of expected congestion, residents are being asked to avoid Oak Street between the Elementary School and the High School between eight AM and two PM Saturday.
