The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current, June 18, 2021, Image 5

The Columbia press., June 18, 2021, Page 5, Image 5

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Newspaper Page TextJune 18, 2021 The Columbia Press Disaster: Honing the response in wake of tragedy Continued from Page 1 exercise responded to mus- tard gas, and Wednesday, while I was there, was an exercise of the aftermath of a cesium nuclear “dirty bomb.” A formal evaluation was Thursday. The exercise is designed to hone members’ readi- ness and ability to augment civilian authorities in re- sponse to human and natu- ral disasters. I was escorted during the exercise by Maj. Sam Lee and Lt. Daniel Del- gado of public affairs. In our scenario, the dirty bomb was detonat- ed by terrorists and the group immediately put on hazmat suits and set up the decontamination and oth- er tents. Next, they searched through the rubble for vic- Photos by D.B. Lewis/The Columbia Press tims. An infrared heat de- Clockwise from top left: A team member uses an infrared gun to tector gun was used to see if search a damaged tunnel for victims. ‘Victim’ Martin Adams holds anyone was trapped inside his bagged belongings while his shirt is cut off. Adams at the ad- a damaged aqueduct tun- ministrative tent. A nonambulatory victim is tended to on a portable nel. Medix Ambulance stood conveyor belt. by with a “water buffalo,” a tial treatments were recorded. veyor belt. car-sized water tank. Throughout it all was profes- We followed local resident Finally, it was off to the medi- sional efficiency and a sense of cal tent to treat his broken arm Martin Adams, who lives in unified mission. and lacerations. Clatsop Plains and was hired Considering the many un- Meanwhile, in the nonam- to pose as a victim. He could certainties after a natural di- bulatory tent, victims arrived still walk after the bomb, while saster, I feel just a bit safer on stretchers and were rolled other victims could not. knowing that teams like this from station to station along Adams was given a wristband exist. an innovative portable con- by an emergency medical tech- nician and a triage tag around his neck noted he had lacera- tions and a broken arm. His personal effects were stuffed into a bag and he was moved along to the decontamination tent. There thyy cut off his shirt (in an actual emergency like this, they’d have stripped him naked), and he was sprayed down. Then he moved to the next station where he was sprayed again. At a fourth station, a team member with a Geiger counter checked Adams for radiation. Next, he was escorted to an administrative tent where all his vitals, injuries and poten- 5 Oregon could see rolling blackouts during wildfire emergencies The Oregon Public Utility Commission has approved temporary rules that include potential public safety pow- er shutoffs during the 2021 wildfire season. The state’s investor-owned electric utilities, including Pacific Power, also will have some fire-related reporting requirements. The rules pro- vide guidance for utilities during safety emergencies until permanent rules are ad- opted. One million acres burned across the state during Ore- gon’s historic 2020 wildfire season. Portland Power had its first emergency power shutoff during that time. A public safety power shut- off is a measure of last resort designed to keep high-risk areas safe by proactively shutting off electricity during extreme and dangerous weather conditions when en- ergized electrical lines could be damaged and ignite a fast-moving wildfire. The rules for utilities spell out when a shutoff is allowed as a way of minimizing the impact on home medical de- vices, access to 911 services and the ability to pump wa- ter. “With the earliest official opening to Oregon’s wild- fire season in 40 years, the establishment of these rules was extremely important and timely,” said Letha Tawney, PUC commissioner. The temporary rules will remain in effect through mid-November. See related story on coun- ty’s fire season on Page 6.