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How can you prepare for a volcanic eruption? The active Cascade volcanoes, including our own Mount Baker, that make our state so beautiful could erupt sometime in the future. How can you prepare for a volcanic eruption? How will you react … Continue reading
How do you respond to a volcanic mudflow tens of miles long aimed right at thousands of homes in Whatcom County? That is the question local emergency responders are working to solve as they prepare for a large scale exercise that will simulate an eruption of Mount Baker in October.
Over the next six weeks, the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, the United States Geological Survey, and Washington State Emergency Management Division will work to respond as if Mount Baker is building towards an eruption.
One of the largest threats from an active volcano is a lahar, a heated mudflow of melted ice and snow that can wreak havoc on communities as it moves off the mountain. While the warning time for other disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis can be measured in hours and minutes, a slowly awakening volcano can take weeks, months or years before it becomes suddenly active.
To recreate this extended period of preparation, agencies will begin receiving simulated warning messages next week from the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, alerting them to activity on Mount Baker in concert with the United States Geological Survey and the Washington State Emergency Management Division. This will continue over the next six weeks culminating in a week-long full-scale at the Whatcom Unified Emergency Operations Center October 15-19th.
For more information and updates as the drill moves forward, check WhatcomReady.org or follow on facebook by clicking here.
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Register Here For The Mount Baker Volcano Seminar While there has been much attention on Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano these last few weeks, Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office Division of Emergency Management has been working with Federal, State, Local and International agencies … Continue reading
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On March 9 through 11, thirty-nine volunteer responders from Whatcom County CERT and Whatcom County Search & Rescue Council completed 24 hours of training in Wide Area Search (PER-213). This training was hosted at the Whatcom Unified Emergency Coordination Center … Continue reading
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Sheriff Bill Elfo recognized Greg Hope as volunteer of the year for his work managing the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and he met with over 80 CERT volunteers in the form of a “town hall … Continue reading
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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and Canada Department of National Defence’s Centre for Security Science will conduct the fifth Canada-U.S. Enhanced Resiliency Experiment (CAUSE V) from Nov. 15 to 16, 2017. In this … Continue reading
Winter weather conditions are continuing throughout Whatcom County. These conditions are likely to worsen over the next 24 hours; we are urging the community to stay home unless absolutely necessary. Snow accumulation of 1-2 inches and up to ½ inch of freezing rain are expected, coupled with NE winds that will gust up to 30-35 mph. 
Due to the cold weather, the American Red Cross has opened a shelter at East Valley Regional Center at 8251 Kendall Rd, Maple Falls, WA 98266. The shelter is scheduled to open at 6:00 PM on February 7, 2017. The American Red Cross will be staffing the shelter. If you need transportation assistance getting to this shelter you can contact Jessica Bea with Whatcom County Fire District #14 at 360-599-3944.
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It has now been 317 years + 1 day since the last Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquake. We live in earthquake country – this January we had earthquakes in Sudden Valley, Birch Bay, and Ferndale.Those have been too small to feel, … Continue reading
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The Northern California Loma Prieta earthquake happened at the end of the workday, but what if it had occurred right in the middle your 10:00 meeting in the conference room? Being prepared in the workplace is one of the three … Continue reading
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Is today the day an earthquake will occur while you or your kids are at school? All of us need to “Be Prepared”, at home, at school, in the workplace, while shopping, in houses of worship, or just taking a … Continue reading
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