After walking the Cottonwood Heights City Council through their annual emergency response training, Salt Lake County’s Emergency Management Director Tara Behunin asked the councilmembers to play a game with her to test their knowledge. Read through the connecting story and then come back here to play along. See if you can beat your councilmembers by tallying the answers you get correct. 

We must begin by following along through a possible Scenario (1) Behunin detailed out for the council: Cottonwood Heights gets a heavy snow storm, a good 8 feet of snow. Power lines throughout the city began to slump under the weight of the snow. The Cottonwood Heights Public Works team is overwhelmed. 

From an emergency response perspective: How would the main event be defined? What are the cascading events? What should the first and secondary concerns of the city be? (Note your answers before checking them below.) 

“The city would be shut down. How would you get resources to homes?” asked Behunin. 

After listening through some of the councilmembers initial response, Cottonwood Heights Police (CHPD) Assistant Chief Paul Brenneman clarified the answer in terms of what their emergency response team would be prepared to do. 

“We always want to be concerned about life safety first and then not making the situation worse,” said Brenneman. 

He detailed how coordination with the Public Works team would be vital in terms of getting roads clear enough to get any and all stuck cars out of the road. The city would also need to be proactive in terms of getting out a message to stay at home. 

Behunin chimed in recommending the frequent ask of residents to have a response kit, warmers, food and water in their cars.

We are off to a great start! Ready for round two? 

Here’s the Scenario (2): On July 4, sparks from a celebration along the east side of Wasatch Boulevard ignites some of the dried natural debris. Southwest winds are strong enough to fuel the fire and start pushing it into the neighborhoods and surrounding city.  

From an emergency response perspective: How would the main event be defined? What are the cascading events? What should the first concern of the city be? Where do the (potentially) evacuated people go? What other critical infrastructure might be affected? (Note your answers before checking them below.) 

If a wildfire forced Cottonwood Heights residents to evacuate, the CHPD would work with our local Unified Fire Authority (UFA) to knock on doors, spread the message through the PA systems equipped in their vehicles and set up roadblocks. The residents would, most likely, be asked to evacuate to the Cottonwood Heights Recreation Center.

“We have an agreement with Red Cross for the Rec Center…if the Rec Center is standing,” Brenneman explained.

Brenneman asked the councilmembers to think about what precautions they would need to be taking in terms of infrastructure, as part of their role(s) as councilmembers is to know and navigate city hazards. 

“The Metro Water facilities (treatment plant and storage) are right there. They provide water for how many people in the valley?” he asked. “Almost of all us.”  

Brenneman reminded the councilmembers and city residents that emergency scenarios and responses are not as simple as “hey, we have a fire.” He asks residents to be prepared with enough resources to last them until it’s possible for a local or state response team to get to them. Seventy-two to 96 hour kits are often recommended. 

“As we have learned…hope is not a plan,” said Councilmember Suzanne Hyland. 

Correct answers for Scenario 1. 

Main event: Snow storm. 

Cascading events: down powerlines, access to power needs, food needs. 

First concern: communication.

Secondary concerns: clearing streets for mobility (along with public safety). 

Correct answers for Scenario 2. 

Main event: wildfire.  

Cascading events: power outages, evacuation, resource management. 

First concern: communication.

Evacuation point: receiving center - Cottonwood Heights Recreation Center (7500 S. 2700 East). 

Affected infrastructure: Metropolitan Water District Facilities accessing the watershed.