Pictured Above: MCEM Director Chris Voss provides updates on the County's

response at a press conference on September 5th. Photo by Multnomah County Communications Office.

A severe heat wave was forecast for the end of the first week of September, beginning Thursday, September 5, with the possibility of lasting into the weekend. High temperatures did end up exceeding or nearing records for the two days of the emergency response, although the highest temperatures did not meet the initially forecast duration - in part due to the sun-blocking effects of smoke and other air pollutants. Health impacts from the heat were elevated, but did not reach the levels of other similarly forecast heatwaves from this summer and over the past few years.

In response to the heat forecast, Multnomah County opened two emergency daytime cooling spaces and supported extra capacity at two existing shelters on September 5th and 6th. A cumulative total of 266 guests were served during the event. Multnomah County also supported other community and governmental efforts to provide life-saving interventions to those with high vulnerability to the heat because of existing health conditions or facing the most severe environmental risks. Other cooling spaces that were listed on the County's interactive map, such as libraries and recreational centers functioned as additional respite from the heat. Two library branches extended hours until 8:00pm on September 5 and 6.

For any heat-related information, all are encouraged to visit Multnomah County's Help for When It's Hot page for resources. Similarly, as we enter into cooler months, people are encouraged to check Multnomah County's Care for When It's Cold page for resources.

Interested in serving in the Emergency Operations Center during a future event? Contact calvin.hoff@multco.us for information on needs in the Emergency Operations Center.

Autumn is the season for community preparedness presentations! MCEM has eleven presentations and events planned in October and November, including four for the intellectually and developmentally disabled Community, two hosted by Multnomah County Libraries, three events for various Multnomah County Departments and smaller community-based organizations and two sessions for the cities of Fairview, Troutdale, and Wood Village. MCEM has also been distributing print resources to our partners for events, including the Ukrainian Festival via the Ukrainian Foundation, El Grito via Multnomah County Health Department and various other small community groups and events.  

MCEM Community Capacity Building staff are in the process of updating our online request form and processes and building a larger cohort of presenters so that we are better able to respond to all requests for presentations and materials. Stay tuned for more information on these updates! 

If you are interested in requesting preparedness materials for an event, please take a look at our Publications Available for Download and fill out our Presentations and Materials Request Form.

If you would like to request a presentation or training for the Spring of 2025, please fill out the Publications Available for Download request form.

If you are interested in our calendar of presentations and training events, please visit Multnomah County’s Emergency Response Readiness: Training, Exercises & Events calendar. 

Portland State University's School of Earth, Environment, and Society invites the public to attend a lecture series on "Innovative Approaches to Addressing Societal Risks from Compound Environmental Threats."

The lectures will be offered on Thursday afternoons from 4:00pm to 4:50pm in Cramer Hall room 53 (1721 SW Broadway, Portland, OR, 97201; enter on the north side of the building and follow signs). Lectures will take place each Thursday from October 10 to December 5 (except for Thursday November 28 when Portland State University is closed for Thanksgiving).

Details on specific speakers, topics and dates can be found on Portland State University's website.

Upcoming Events

You can view upcoming training opportunities through the following events calendars: Multnomah County, the Regional Disaster Preparedness Organization (subscribe option), the State of Oregon (subscribe option), and the State of Washington.

Training Offerings

13 Dates through December 11th: Disaster Behavioral Health Volunteer Training

• Host: MC Behavioral Health
• Time: Varies (see registration form for dates and times)
• Location: Virtual 
• Cost: Free
• Prerequisites: none 
• Registration: Register Here

October 8: Living by the Levee: Navigating Flood Resilience with Unsheltered Communities

• Host: Natural Hazards Center 
• Time:  10:00am-11:00am (Pacific Time)
• Location:  Virtual 
• Cost: Free
• Prerequisites: none
• Registration:Register Here

October 8-9: ICS-400 Advanced ICS for Command and General Staff

• Host: Cowlitz County - Emergency Operations Center (EOC)
• Time: 8:15am-5:00pm
• Location: Cowlitz County - Emergency Operations Center (EOC) 312 SW 1st Ave. Kelso, WA 98626
• Cost: Free
• Prerequisites: IS-100, IS-200, IS-700, IS-800, ICS-300
• Registration: Email Larry Hembree at hembreeL@cowlitzwa.gov

October 9: Fire Scars on the Landscape: The Science and Management of Debris Flows

• Host: Northwest Fire Science Consortium & Washington State Department of Natural Resources
• Time: 12:00pm-1:00pm
• Location: Virtual 
• Cost: Free
• Prerequisites: None
• Registration: Register Here

October 10: 2024 Public-Private Partnerships Security and Resilience Seminar Series Session 4: Emerging Cybersecurity Threats 

• Host: Regional/National Situational Awareness  
• Time: 9:00am - 10:30am
• Location: Virtual 
• Cost: Free
• Prerequisites: None
• Registration: Register Here  

October 16: Be 2 Weeks Ready Program Coordinator Training

• Host: OEM 
• Time: 8:00am-12:30pm 
• Location: Virtual 
• Cost: Free
• Prerequisites: None
• Registration: Register Here

October 16: Exploring Diverse Community Pathways to Recovery

• Host: Northwest Fire Science Consortium & Washington State Department of Natural Resources
• Time: 12:00pm-1:00pm
• Location: Virtual 
• Cost: Free
• Prerequisites: None
• Registration: Register Here

October 17: The Great Shake out

• Host: FEMA and Partnering Agencies  
• Time:  10:17am 
• Location: Anywhere
• Cost: Free
• Prerequisites: None 
• Registration: Register Here

October 17: G-191 Incident Command System/Emergency Operations Center Interface

• Hosts: Portland Airport Fire & Rescue and Port of Portland with instructors from Tualatin Fire & Rescue and MCEM 
• Time: 7:45am - 5:00pm
• Location: Portland Airport Fire and Rescue: 5250 NE Marine Drive, Portland, OR 97218
• Cost: Free
• Prerequisites: IS-100, IS-700, IS-800, IS-200 (or) IS-2200
• Registration: Register Here

October 21-25: MGT-323 Instructor Development Workshop (Virtual)

• Host: Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management
• Time: 8:00am-12:00pm 
• Location: Online 
• Cost: Free
• Prerequisites: The NCBRT recommends that participants have prior instructional and training experience and knowledge of instructional methodology.
• Registration: Register Here (Access Code: NCBRT323)

October 23: Post-Fire Restoration Infrastructure: Adjusting our Systems to New Patterns of Runoff

• Host: Northwest Fire Science Consortium & Washington State Department of Natural Resource, OSU 
• Time: 12:00pm-1:00pm
• Location: Virtual 
• Cost: Free
• Prerequisites: None
• Registration: Register Here

October 23-24: ICS-400 Advanced ICS for Command and General Staff

• Host: Lewis County Fire District 6
• Time: 8:00am-5:00pm
• Location: 2123 Jackson Highway, Chehalis, WA 98532
• Cost: Free
• Prerequisites: IS-100, IS-200, IS-700, IS-800, ICS-300
• Registration: Register Here

October 26-27: ACES Amateur Radio Operators Basic Course

• Host: ACES
• Time: 8am-5pm 
• Location: Hillsboro, OR
• Cost: N/A 
• Prerequisites: N/A 
• Registration: Register Here

October 28-30: ICS-300 Intermediate ICS for Expanding Incidents (three offerings)

• Host: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Time: Times per day vary
• Location: Natural Resource Building, 1111 Washington St SE, Conference Room 175A and 175B Olympia, WA 98504
• Cost: Free
• Prerequisites: IS-100, IS-200, IS-700, IS-800
• Registration: Register Here

October 30: The Reforestation Pipeline: Ensuring Equitable Access to Replanting

• Host: Northwest Fire Science Consortium & Washington State Department of Natural Resources, OSU 
• Time: 12:00pm-1:00pm
• Location:  Virtual 
• Cost: Free
• Prerequisites: None
• Registration: Register Here

November 3: Recreating and Relating to the Land After Fire

• Host: Northwest Fire Science Consortium & Washington State Department of Natural Resources, OSU 
• Time: 12:00pm-1:00pm
• Location: Virtual 
• Cost: Free
• Prerequisites: None
• Registration: Register Here

November 7: MGT-343 Disaster Management for Water and Wastewater Utilities

• Host: FEMA-TEEX
• Time: 8:00am-5:00pm
• Location: South Puget Sound College, 4200 Capitol Blvd. Olympia
• Cost: Free
• Prerequisites: None, but AWR419 recommended
• Registration: Register Here

November 11-13: MGT-310 Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment and Stakeholder Preparedness Review

• Host: FEMA-TEEX
• Time: 8:00am-5:00pm 
• Location: The Atrium, 3000 Pacific Ave SE, Olympia, WA 98501
• Cost: Free
• Prerequisites: IS-700, IS-800, IS-235, IS-2000, IS-2500, AWR-213, AWR-160, MGT-418
• Registration: Register Here

November 12: What You Need to Know: Updates to FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance Program and Policy Guide

• Host: Natural Hazards Center 
• Time: 10:00am-11:00am (Pacific Time)
• Location: Virtual 
• Cost: Free
• Prerequisites: None
• Registration: Register Here

November 12-14: Equity and Environmental Justice in Wildland Fire

• Host: Northwest Fire Science Consortium and Partners
• Time: 9:00am-1:00pm 
• Location: Virtual 
• Cost: Free
• Prerequisites: None 
• Registration: Register Here

November 16: Be 2 Weeks Ready Program Coordinator Training

• Host: OEM 
• Time: 8:00am-12:30pm 
• Location: Virtual 
• Cost: Free
• Prerequisites: None
• Registration: Register Here

December 3-4: MGT-319 Medical Countermeasures: Points of Dispensing (POD), Planning and Response

• Host: TEEX 
• Time: 8:00am-5:00pm 
• Location: The Atrium, 3000 Pacific Ave SE, Olympia, WA 98501
• Cost: Free
• Prerequisites: Recommended IS-100, IS-200, IS-700
• Registration: Register Here