8A - TORNADO, JET CRASH, WIND STORM - A BUSY YEAR IN EMERGENCY RESPONSE GIS

Tornado, Jet Crash, Wind StormA busy year in Adams County

emergency response GIS

Tyler GrosshueschAdams County GIS

WLIA Annual Meeting – February 2012

This is not in Adams County

Photo: Heather Bleick, courtesy of AVO/USGS.Mount Redoubt, Cook Inlet, AKMarch 26, 2009

Map by Janet Schaefer, courtesy of AVO/ADGGS.

Volcano Threatens Oil Terminal -AK Oil & Gas Cartography Unit Preparedness = 0

Map: SkyTruth, Imagery: NASA

• VERY limited data• No training or

preparation• Therefore, poor

response and lousy maps• Oil & Gas was far down

the list of responding agencies, many others were better prepared

Adams County GIS

• Started work in August, 2009 – a few months after the volcano

• Emergency response is part of the job– Preparedness expected– No training provided– Wanted to learn

• Opportunity with DNR Fire IMT

DNR Fire Incident Management Team

• Volunteer opportunity to provide GIS support• Adams County receives:

– Excellent training– An opportunity to think about preparedness– An opportunity to work with other GIS professionals

• DNR receives:– A trained volunteer they can call on in an

emergency

DNR Fire Incident Management Team (cont’d)

• Situation Unit led by John Hintz (DNR)• Other GIS volunteers

– Justin Conner (Wood County)– Paul Schneider (City of Marshfield)– Jim Lutes (US Fish and Wildlife)

DNR Fire Incident Management Team (cont’d)

• Meet annually to review our roles, hardware, software– Standardized maps and data– Documented and tested hardware

• Portable network storage, wireless• Printer – 11x17 color, job storage

– Review procedures and priorities• Also have less frequent event simulations

Things I’ve learned from IMT participation

• Have laptop ready with:– Spatial data– Tax roll – as important as spatial data

• Simplify access to styled data– My way: layer file library– DNR way: pre-made maps

• Periodically think things through– What will be requested?– What will I need?

Good thing I learned something...

• Tornado – April 10th, 2011• Fighter jet crash – June 7th, 2011• Wind storm – September 2nd, 2011

• No deaths or severe injuries

Tornados in Adams Countyet al.

Initial Response – night of the tornado

• Clearing roads• Electrical safety• Determining location and extent of damage

– Normal confusion, communication problems– Might have been facilitated by GIS support

Activated DNR IMT

• Adams County requested support from the DNR, DNR activated the IMT

• IMT convened at the Incident Command Post the morning after the tornado

• My first time in an active IMT was for an Adams County incident– In a way, this is good – my participation had been

questioned

Morning After the Tornado

• Picked up my laptop (data was ready to go)• Started mapping the tornado path and areas

of worst damage based on:– Description from Sheriff’s Captain– Listening to the morning briefing

• Verified the map after the briefing• Printed some wall maps at the office• After this, began to participate in DNR IMT

DNR Support

• Well trained, experienced people– New County EM Director– New County Sheriff– New County GIS Specialist

• IMT equipment trailer – lots of goodies• Recon flight

– More accurate mapping of the extent– Observed unreported damage– Photos taken from the air

Cottonville Tornado

Photo: Curtis Ambulance

Town of Preston shop

Photo: Curtis Ambulance

Chair, Town of Strongs Prairie

Photo: John Hintz, DNR

Hectic, then calm

• Morning, afternoon– Getting set up– Figuring out what was going on– Meeting immediate needs for information

• Evening, subsequent two days– Updates and refinements

• Restricted access map and list• Law enforcement assignments

– At ICP to fulfill other requests (hanging out)

At the EOC

Productive Outcomes

• County & DNR GIS response well regarded• DNR support especially appreciated• Good real-world experience for new county

staff• Working with EM, LE facilitated later work• Time to work with DNR staff

– Getting to know each other, equipment– Wrote backup script discussed at planning mtg.

Friends and Neighbors Helping

Photo: Curtis Ambulance

Photos: Curtis Ambulance

Karma, Schadenfreude

Photo: John Hintz, DNR

F-16 Crash

Photo: F-16.net, Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems

An F-16 crashed? Really?

• Early grapevine reports of a plane crash• Assumed it was a crop duster• Heard from news reports that it was an F-16• Training run from Truax field (Madison)• Mechanical failure• Pilot ejected safely• Jet crashed into an unoccupied house

Before

County WROC imagery – March 2012

After

DigitalGlobe / Bing imagery - August 2011

On-The-Ground Response

• New Chester Fire Department first on the scene (volunteer, rural)

• Military arrived about 2 hours later• New Chester Fire Captain remained Incident

Commander• New Chester Fire Department widely praised• Little known about the military activity• Concerns continue regarding chemical release

and groundwater contamination

GIS Response

• Nothing requested during work hours• After work, stay home with the kids• Prep and print, meet EM Director• No maps – needed a list of land owners in the

restricted area• Fulfilling data requests from WI Dept. Military

Affairs (Emergency Mgt., National Guard)

www.wxow.comLaCrosse News 19

Aircraft Accident Investigation Board ReportLt. Col. David B. Faulk

Crater: 9ft. deep, 30 ft. diameter

There used to be a house here.

Wind Storm

Wind Storm

• Friday before Labor Day• Widespread damage

– Trees down– Electric lines down – many without power

• GIS requests were simple– Map the affected area based on hand drawn map– Updated the map 3 times within 2 hours as more

reports came in

Getting Ready for Next Time

• Continuing with DNR IMT• New laptop

– Emergency response requirements justify purchase

– Can handle ArcGIS 10, imagery storage• Scripted & scheduled updates to keep laptop

data fresh

Questions, Comments

Tyler GrosshueschAdams County GIS

gis@co.adams.wi.us

608-339-4546