All Roads Lead Back Locally
How does a transportation agency respond in a state that has an abundance of geological and natural challenges, such as earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, winter storms, flooding, and landslides?
After checking on families and accounting for fellow employees, the next goal for Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is to assess the highway system and prioritize needed repairs. State and local leaders will need information regarding the many state highways and over 3,000 potentially-impacted bridges that serve the public and drive the economy.
While area maintenance superintendents and construction project offices provide the field power and know-how, Emergency Managers and an EOC system provides the structure and coordination to re-open state highways. State routes tie into county, city, and tribal roadways to provide lifelines after an emergency. The model works! It handles hundreds of assessments, logs roadway closures, and feeds updates to local EOCs.
This presentation dives into critical transportation, vulnerabilities, field response, expectations of field crews, the role for the EOC system, communications, stakeholder outreach and liaison, and considerations for managing a major geological, natural, or human-caused incident and how those support local, state, and federal response and recovery efforts.
About the Presenters
The presentation will be provided by WSDOT regional and ferries emergency managers. WSDOT is formed into six operational regions. Regional emergency managers have responsibility for comprehensive emergency management for their region(s). Additionally, the Washington State Ferries emergency manager is responsible for maritime security and response operations.
Damaris Deschner, Emergency Manager for the three Eastern WA Regions. She previously worked for EMD in Preparedness and as SEOC COVID-19 Planning Sec Chief. She completes her Masters in Security and Disaster Management in 2024.
Kayla Grayson is Northwest Region Emergency Manager. With 14 years of experience, Kayla has gained a unique perspective in emergency management. She is a Certified Emergency Manager, and has a Masters in Public Administration.
Eric Frank, Southwest Region, has over 30 year’s involvement in Public Safety, serving as a firefighter/EMT, Fire Chief, Emergency Services Coordinator, and most recently CRESA 911 as Public Outreach Coordinator.
Lit Dudley, Olympic Region, is a Certified Emergency Manager with 23 years of state service. He is retired from the US Army and has a Masters in Business Administration.
Ana Fuschetto – WSF Company Security Officer & Emergency Manager