PARSONS – Be prepared. That is something we have been taught throughout our lives – and on Thursday, emergency personnel and volunteers were tested in Tucker and eight surrounding counties to insure they are ready for potential situations.
Tucker County OEM and E911 Director Darla Stemple said Tucker County participated in an EPA drought drill Thursday to test workers skills and train personnel how to respond during a disaster. Emergency workers gathered in three areas throughout the county – in Parsons above the EMS garage, in Bretz and at the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Davis.
“Thursday was a Region 4 drought exercise. It includes Randolph, Barbour, Braxton, Lewis, Upshur, Gilmer, Webster, Pendleton and Tucker counties,” Tucker County Emergency Information Officer Lois Nelson said.
“To see how we can get water to the residents of Tucker County,” Stemple said. “It not only affects people. Tucker County has agriculture that would be affected by drought.
“It also prepares us in case there is an actual emergency,” Nelson said. “According to our information, we are not expected to receive any additional precipitation in the next week or so, and conceivably, not in the next month. So we have to make plans for such a situation. Representatives are here giving us situations and scenarios we have to deal with to make sure the water the residents are receiving is appropriate.”
Nelson said Tucker County Extension Agent Jennifer Poling was on hand to help address issues with getting water to animals.
Stemple said the group asked for a voluntary evacuation of residents who have somewhere else they can go where they are not affected by the drought.
“This helps us relieve our situation,” Nelson said. “We have closed the businesses except those that are essential.”
During the drill, the Parsons Advocate was permitted to travel to each of the sites in Tucker County. Nelson cautioned that during a true emergency or disaster, access would be limited.
“We would be in contact with media sources by scheduling press conferences to share information for residents,” Nelson said.
Nelson said the drill went really well.
“Folks have showed up without containers to get their water,” Stemple said. “They have also showed up with dirty containers. So we have scenarios and we are critiqued on how we handle those situations.”
“We have been able to answer the questions and secure the resources needed to deal with each situation,” Nelson said. “We have the city of Parsons and Hamrick PSD representatives on hand.”
Jim Ancell was at the Bretz location during the mock drought drill.
“This process started approximately a year ago and we are doing the final full exercise plan right now to see if it will work,” Ancell said. “This location is a point of distribution where folks would be able to receive water in case of a drought. We have another point of distribution on top of the mountain at the Wildlife Management Area. We have the Tucker County CERT team here as well as an ambulance.”
Ancell said EMS was called to check a woman who was sick and disorientated. He said the Parsons Fire Department members were on hand to help distribute the water.
“We also have an EPA representative from Philadelphia here evaluating how we are doing here today,” Ancell said.
Raj Sharma, EPA Area Director, served as the on-scene coordinator for the day’s drill.
“I am assigned to do clean ups and emergency responses, and I also help out with exercises like this,” Sharma said. “We plan to do exercises each year to help preparedness.”
Sharma said the EPA came up with the drought scenario because it forces the counties to come up with alternative water supplies.
“This is a really important issue, especially after the Charleston water emergency,” Sharma said. “Even though the scenario is drought, really, the idea is to test if there are alternative water supplies and what would folks do if their water supply was compromised for any reason.”
Sharma said Tucker County has some different issues.
“It is definitely unique in its geography,” Sharma said. “There are so many trees and different elevations – it makes it different.”
Sharma said the response to the drill in Tucker County was impressive.
“Tucker County is in good hands,” Sharma said.
