Multnomah County Emergency Management Monthly Newsletter
February 2023
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Multnomah County Office of Emergency Management (MCEM) compiles this monthly email to provide information related to emergency management activities. If you have content for this newsletter, please submit to em.dutyofficer@multco.us.
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Catastrophic Mass Care Model Seminar
Multnomah County is hosting a virtual Seminar event next Monday, February 13, at 2:00pm to reintroduce the Catastrophic Mass Care Model implemented locally. This event is intended to build awareness for the existing model. The 90 minute seminar will:
- Present the Catastrophic Mass Care Model in Multnomah County,
- Introduce the Spring 2023 Catastrophic Mass Care Exercise Series, and
- Provide space for discussion around both.
This event is open to anyone interested in attending, review the event agenda for additional context. Reach out to Robert Quinn ( robert.quinn@multco.us) if you would like to be added to this event.
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2023 Oregon RADIO Conference
The Radio Activities and Discussions on Interoperability in Oregon (RADIO) Conference will be returning in 2023. The RADIO Conference will be held at the Best Western Plus Hood River Inn in beautiful Hood River, Oregon, from April 3rd-5th, 2023. The RADIO Conference brings together public safety executive leaders, radio system managers, 911 telecommunications personnel, emergency managers, and public officials who manage, operate, build, and support public safety communications systems for law enforcement, fire service, emergency medical and other public safety agencies. This conference is where the public safety industry goes to discuss and learn about interoperability in Oregon.
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Children and Youth in Disasters Guidance
Multnomah and Clackamas Counties have developed Children and Youth in Disasters Guidance to provide recommendations for coordinating critical disaster services for children and youth. The guidance is a preparedness document, designed to be read, understood and exercised prior to a disaster, ensuring key partners in Multnomah and Clackamas Counties are aware of best practices and resources to support the safety and wellbeing of children and youth in Disasters.
Using a whole-community approach, the guidance was written with a wide range of community partners and perspectives that represent the needs of children and youth in emergencies. We are so grateful for the participation of 60 partners who contributed to this project over nine months. Each offered perspectives that make this guidance unique to Multnomah and Clackamas Counties.
The Children and Youth in Disasters project was funded by a FY2019 State Homeland Security Grant Program grant, with a pause during the extensive COVID-19 activation.
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County Departments and the Community Support Multnomah County Animal Services (MCAS) |
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Staffing shortages and a seasonal spike in strays around the holidays pushed the Troutdale shelter to capacity and prevented it from accepting new animals for a week in January while it worked with local partners and recruited volunteers to temporarily foster animals to free up kennel space. MCAS also reached out to the community for volunteers to help with day-to-day operations; over 100 people signed up to help cover shifts from cleaning to helping visitors find their new furry family members.
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The County asked the emergency management team to bring an incident management framework to help the understaffed shelter manage an influx of new volunteers while simultaneously preparing to reopen for in-person adoptions, which had been suspended since the start of the pandemic in 2020.
The National Incident Management System (NIMS) is a framework that guides all levels of government, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector, in working together during responses to all types of emergencies. Multnomah County officially adopted NIMS in 2009 as the framework it would use to manage its response to emergencies and disasters (Resolution 07-130). NIMS proved its value once again as its systems and structures helped personnel from across the county and community work together in support of MCAS.
A huge shout out to all the people across so many different county departments and all of our wonderful community members who stepped forward to help!
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January 2023 Winter Weather Activation
The National Weather Service forecasted inclement winter weather beginning on Saturday, January 28, through Tuesday, January 31. In response to that forecast, Multnomah County and the City of Portland initiated a collaborative response structure to support providing mass care, health, and pet support services to the community. The Joint Emergency Operations Center activated on Thursday, January 26, in preparation for opening overnight-only severe weather shelters. Emergency shelters opened on Saturday, January 28, at 8:00 PM and operated through Monday, January 30, at 8:00 AM. Both Multnomah County and the City of Portland declared states of emergency during this inclement weather incident.
Multnomah County uses criteria, including temperature, wind, and precipitation, to determine when conditions pose a danger to exposed, vulnerable people. Due to improving conditions, the demobilization process was started Monday, January 30.
Sincere thanks to everyone who was a part of the response. Together with our partners, we were able to provide warmth and safety to 575 community members.
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Q2 Training and Exercise Compendium
- Which opportunities did not take place and why, and
- What is to come in Fiscal Year 23’ Quarter 3 (January 1-March 31, 2023).
Questions or comments about the IPP or the Training and Exercise Program can be sent to Robert Quinn (robert.quinn@multco.us).
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Upcoming Training and Exercise Events
Training Offerings
- No local training offerings anticipated at this time.
Exercise Events
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Catastrophic Mass Care Seminar (February 13): See content above.
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Catastrophic Mass Care Series - Event 1 of 2 (March 7): Multnomah County is participating with our regional partners to further develop our collective capabilities for providing mass care and shelter services following a catastrophic event. This exercise series will include two events: the first a 4-hour workshop and the second a full-day workshop and tabletop event. Multnomah County anticipates building off this exercise series during the June 2023 Full-Scale Exercise event. For questions about this series please reach out to robert.quinn@multco.us.
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3Q23 Quarterly VHF Radio Drill (March 14): This quarterly drill will test communication capabilities for internal County, and external response partners via VHF radio systems. Drill conduct can be found in the following Standard Operating Procedure. For questions about this drill please reach out to robert.quinn@multco.us.
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Controlling the Burn 2023 Wildfire Workshop Event (March 16): This workshop event will bring together Multnomah County and our east county partners to prepared for a wildfire scenario. This workshop will focus on operational coordination, specifically how an organizational structure will be set up and how to perform evacuation operations in that area. The Mid-Term Planning Meeting (MPM) is scheduled for Thursday, February 23. For questions about this workshop please reach out to robert.quinn@multco.us.
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Cascadia FE'23 Mid-Term Planning Meeting (March 29): The MPM is a continuation of the development phase. This meeting is primarily focused on scenario development and serves as a check-in for exercise product development. For questions about this meeting please reach out to robert.quinn@multco.us.
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Have something you'd like to include in one of our future newsletters? We'd love to hear from you! To have your upcoming trainings, exercises, events, or other announcements added, please email em.dutyofficer@multco.us.
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