Emergency Drill: Monuments; Florence City Council

Drill about communications

It was a successful Emergency Drill, that according to Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue Chief Jim Langborg.  While onlookers observed the event on the docks at the port of Siuslaw yesterday, they may not have gotten a clear picture of the purpose of the exercise.  Langborg said it was intended to simulate an actual emergency, but the overall benefit was much broader:

“The biggest part, at least from my perspective, was that we were able to establish a unified command with officials from the ambulance district, the fire district, the United States Coast Guard, the port and the hospital.”

Response times were simulated and coordinated by bringing in responders at different times according to the distance they would have had to travel.  Langborg said there was also some relationship building and learning how each group could work together and by establishing an idea of the needs of each responding agency.  There was to be an actual boat burning, but according to Langborg it was ultimately the weather that decided their course of action.  In the end it was…

“… Flares and the Flares just produced smoke”

 

Advocates Speak out about Monuments

Public-lands advocates from Oregon and around the country were in Washington D-C yesterday to tell policymakers not to make changes to the country’s national monuments, including Oregon’s Cascade-Siskiyou. The Interior Department is reviewing 27 monuments that have been designated or expanded since 1996. President Clinton designated Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in 2000 and it was expanded by President Obama in 2017. Stuart Warren, a fly-fishing guide in southern Oregon who is in D-C today, says the monument is a critical part of the region.

 “The monument serves a purpose for the people that live in southern Oregon. Jackson County, in particular, has really started to become a tourist destination for a lot of folks, and having a place for them to go recreate while they’re there is really an important part of that attraction to southern Oregon.”

Yesterday was also the anniversary of the Antiquities Act of 1906, which gave presidents the power to designate national monuments in order to protect significant natural, cultural or scientific features. Cascade-Siskiyou originally was designated for the incredible amount of plant and animal species there. Warren says the area is unique.

“It’s really that variety of species that live there that makes it such a special place. On top of all that, it’s the crest of the Cascade-Siskiyou mountain ranges, and to the south you have these incredible views of Mount Shasta. To the north you could just see the Rogue Valley, and then to the east you have these incredible, vast old-growth forests.”

The public can comment on the review process at regulations.gov through July 10th.

City Council Meeting

The Florence city council meets Monday evening at 5:30 and will consider a recommendation for approval for a new liquor license for the Heceta Beach Mini-Mart and will also be considering allowing the City Manager to enter into a first renewal agreement with the Florence area chamber of commerce for marketing and tourism.  The complete agenda is available at the city’s website C-I dot Florence dot O-R dot U-S.