Siren tests, dam failure, fire ban discussed at emergency planning meeting

At the August 10 Hot Springs County Emergency Planning Meeting held at the Fire Hall, Coordinator Bill Gordon met with participants who represented different entities, such as Gottsche, the Fire Department, the Sheriff’s Office, the Department of Family Services, and others.

Gordon reported that the recent siren test last Saturday, August 6 went well and asked the participants for feedback on their experience during the test. They reported that they could hear the sirens from the Wedding of the Waters, Buffalo Creek Bridge, and Kirby. However, one subject said they could barely hear it at the Pavillion in the Hot Springs State Park and that in East Thermopolis it was faint. 

The result of the siren test caused people to ask questions. One common question was “How will I know it’s happening?” when they are asleep, for example. During the discussion, Gordon said there is an NOAA All Hazards Radio that will work for that situation. It will receive the alert and has a loud volume level. Gordon also said that installing a siren in the State Park is a “simple add on”. 

One subject reported they were inside a local business on South 6th Street and could hear the siren only one-third the way in the store. Many people were asking questions as they didn’t know the reason for the siren. Gordon acknowledged support from the Independent Record for getting the word out ahead of the siren tests.

Gordon also said another test will be performed on Saturday, September 3 during Labor Day weekend. The test will be a solid alert tone that is primarily used for tornadoes.

Regarding an email Gordon sent to the US Bureau of Reclamation on July 27, he said that he invited them to attend these meetings and has not yet heard back. 

During a discussion about preparing for the unlikely but possible event of the Boysen Dam failure, there was a question about how long would it take for the message of the failure to reach emergency officials. There are some sensors of a river gauge below the dam that send signals every 20 minutes. But this gap or span of time is too significant to be an effective aide to notify the public. 

Under new business, there was a discussion about the Stage 1 fire ban. Sheriff Jerimie Kraushaar said that the language of the fire ban “needed teeth” as the fine is only $100. Recent controlled burns were discussed as well as citizens not calling into dispatch ahead of time. Other causes of fire are trailer chains hanging down that create sparks. Also, hot engine parts, such as catalytic converters can cause fires.  

Gordon returned the discussion to the potential, but unlikely, dam failure and the importance of being prepared. Gordon said there would be a loss of life if it would happen and that the public needs to be educated about making an evacuation plan. 

Gordon said, “I’m coming to the realization or the conclusion that probably our biggest push in terms of public education regarding the dam is when you become aware that it has occurred, you must evacuate. And is there at this time a foolproof procedure for doing that? No. You’ve just got to be ready in your mind and get your stuff together and get in the vehicle and go. We are unsure how long it’s going to take for us to be notified and have a certain amount of difficulty finding that information out from the Bureau of Rec. We’ll continue on that.”

Gordon also said, “We know, according to their calculations, that from the moment that the dam collapses until the water begins arriving here in town, it will be 1.1 hours. So then, in about two and a half hours from the time of the collapse, it will be 71 feet deep [downtown]. So what does that do to us? In terms of how long it takes for us to be notified, it becomes huge.”

“Best-case scenario, if we were notified the moment it happens, we have 66 minutes to get out of the way as far as I interpret it. I would guess that at about 66 minutes there’s going to be water blowing up out of the sewer drains in the streets and they’re going to begin getting wet. So at any rate, if I think our initial impetus and have in these meetings and discussing this, was that how can we organize this? Well, I don’t know that there’s a way to organize this.”

During the discussion with the participants, one subject said that some people believe that “the government will save us” whereas others should “save yourselves.” 

Gordon also said he wants to include the school district in this conversation as they are in the lower floodplain and have many children in attendance. There was also discussion about the Pioneer Home or the nursing home and hospital dealing with the need to evacuate. Gordon said citizens in East Thermopolis should evacuate via East River Road and go up Black Mountain Road. This pathway will be dry. 

Someone commented, “This is a unique situation, unlike in the past, where you can create a scenario and play out this scenario. I think that’s impossible to do here.”

The discussion continued on the subject of signage. Some ideas were to put up evacuation direction signs. Another idea was to paint high water lines on the ground to indicate how far the flood water would reach. However, there was a comment that real estate agents would not appreciate that. Gordon added, “We need to be thoughtful and put ourselves in their shoes. But at the same time, I think we need to be prepared to deal with their cases.”

The next Emergency Planning meeting will be on September 14 at 1:30 p.m. at the Fire Hall.