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By Don Backman
Representatives from emergency volunteer groups throughout Tillamook County, County agencies, fire and police departments, and state agencies, assembled at the Port of Tillamook Bay on July 27th to practice setting up and activating the Evacuation and Assembly Point kit that is pre-positioned there. The kit includes shelters and equipment that can be used in response to a variety of disasters but is specially designed to help in the event of the expected major quake and tsunami’s from the Cascadia Subduction Zone off shore.
The group observed demonstrations of satellite communications equipment, heating, cooling, and air filtering trailers, and participated in setting up and taking down a showering tent. The assembled groups had a treat for lunch – MRE’s. Emergency military rations called Meal Ready to Eat (MRE). For many attendees, this was their first experience with one. Military veterans commented that “These are better than the ones in the ‘90’s.” The writer of this article can attest that these are much better than ones eaten by fire crews in the late ‘80’s, too.
The upcoming Able Readiness Four exercise is scheduled for August 22nd and 23rd at the Port of Tillamook Bay. This is the first ever event of this type, and Tillamook County is fortunate that it was chosen for pre-positioning this equipment. This assembly area will be used to gather and evacuate those people who are in critical need of evacuation after a major disaster such as an earthquake and tsunami’s triggered by the Cascadia Subduction Zone. The facility consists of a series of cabin type wall tents and pre-positioned equipment to allow for triage of approximately 80 disaster survivors at one time drawn from an area extending from the Columbia River and housing them for a short period of time until they can be evacuated by helicopter. In the event of such a disaster, residents of Tillamook County are expected to shelter in place for the duration which can extend to several months or more.
The Able Readiness Four exercise will be completed by the end of Wednesday, August 23, 2023. For more information, contact Randy Thorpe, Tillamook County Emergency Manager.
