From Shelter Role Players to Radio Check-Ins, Drill Tests Wildfire Response

By Marie Kennedy, The Mountain Times

Inside Sandy High School’s gymnasium, evacuees clutched character cards describing medical needs, lost housing, and emergency triage situations as Red Cross volunteers, county staff and chaplains moved between stations in a mock shelter testing how a large wildfire evacuation would stress real-world services in the Sandy-Mount Hood area. Meanwhile, a parallel exercise unfolded over the radio.

The two-day drill simulated a Public Safety Power Shutoff followed by a fast-moving wildfire scenario on Mount Hood, complete with evacuation notices, emergency shelters, radio communication tests and volunteers portraying evacuees. Participants included Clackamas County emergency management staff, fire agencies, medical teams, amateur radio operators, social service organizations, school representatives, and community volunteers.

At the center of the exercise was a mock evacuation shelter at Sandy High School, where volunteers received character cards outlining emergency situations ranging from medical concerns to housing needs. Organizers said the goal was to test coordination between agencies and identify friction points before a real disaster happens.

Inside the Sandy High School gymnasium on May 8, the scene felt remarkably realistic. Staggered groups of residents checked in beginning at 11 a.m., carrying scenario cards that ranged from straightforward needs to more complex situations intended to stretch shelter resources.

Supporting the shelter operation were the American Red Cross, Medical Teams International, Clackamas County Animal Services, chaplain services, trauma intervention volunteers, and local community groups, including the Ant Farm team. State evaluators observed the drill and documented performance across multiple service areas.

“It’s a no-fault learning environment,” said Stephanie Coleman, Clackamas County’s Emergency Operations Center social services coordinator. “Exercises like this allow everyone to practice together before a real emergency happens.”

Coleman said the exercise brought together partners who do not always operate side by side in the same setting.

“Sometimes partners connect online or separately, but this exercise gave us the opportunity to practice those human handoffs in person,” she said.

She said coordination challenges did emerge but were expected and useful.

“It always takes a little time to adjust,” Coleman said. “But we were able to identify where communication slowed and start smoothing those processes out.”

Doug Green, a Clackamas County Social Services employee participating in emergency operations training, said early confusion gradually gave way to effective teamwork.

“It took some coordination, but once people understood what we were there to do, everything started working together the way it was supposed to,” Green said.

He said the exercise gave him hands-on experience. “I’d never done this role before,” he said. “But I learned how to do it, and that’s exactly why exercises like this matter.”

The drill also included radio traffic, simulating wildfire conditions and evacuation coordination across the mountain corridor.

“Through the rest of the weekend and into Saturday, we do have fire activity continuing,” one transmission stated during the exercise. “We’re looking at 12 lightning strikes reported now.”

Another transmission from the shelter called for clearer coordination around evacuation messaging and public information.

Other simulated exchanges included residents discussing generators, propane supplies, and emergency power during a prolonged evacuation.

“We’ve got a couple of operators doing hourly check-ins with citizens who are on GMRS radios,” one participant said. “We’re trying to close the loop on communications so that if this were real, people would be notified.”

Those hourly check-ins were conducted by Pat Erdenberger and Marti Bowne with the Hoodland Emergency Communication Network (HECN), a local GMRS-based group that works with amateur radio operators to support emergency response in the Mount Hood corridor.

Erdenberger and Bowne are HECN co-directors and leaders within the Hoodland Community Planning Organization. They said the drill revealed both strengths and weaknesses in local emergency communication systems.

“Thursday actually went just fine,” Erdenberger said. “We had a public safety power shutoff scenario. We notified our people and kept checking in.”

Bowne said participants handled 107 transmissions over the two days, with 19 operators relaying updates and monitoring conditions across the mountain communities.

“We learned a lot,” Erdenberger said. “That was the purpose of the drill.”

One of the main issues identified involved coordination between agencies and radio operators in the Welches area, including a period where frequency information was not aligned across groups.

“There was about a two-hour period where we weren’t getting the correct frequency information,” Erdenberger said. “That’s exactly the kind of thing these exercises are supposed to uncover.”

Despite those challenges, participants described the overall experience as productive and constructive.

“I came away with a good feeling about who we can depend on and who we can communicate with,” Erdenberger said. “If we can keep improving these communication loops, we’re going to be in much better shape.”

County officials said feedback from the exercise will help refine future evacuation planning, shelter coordination, and emergency communication systems throughout the Mount Hood corridor.