Emergency managers and partners participating across Oklahoma
On Tuesday, October 31, state and local emergency management agencies across Oklahoma will conduct an annual exercise to test emergency operations center functions during a major disaster. The exercise, titled “Earth, Wind and Fire,” was developed by the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.
This year, the exercise will take place in partnership with the Oklahoma National Guard’s Vigilant Guard exercise, which takes place October 30 through November 2.
Local emergency managers across the state will participate by activating their emergency operations centers and working with other local response and voluntary agencies, as they would during an actual incident. Agencies will work through a series of fictional scenarios, including earthquakes, wildfires, and tornadoes, which will test their ability to communicate and coordinate response.
At the State Emergency Operations Center, numerous organizations will be participating in the exercises, including the National Weather Service, Oklahoma National Guard, Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, Oklahoma State Department of Health, Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security, Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, Oklahoma Corporation Commission, Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, Civil Air Patrol, American Red Cross, the Salvation Army and many others.
The joint exercises will test all available types of disaster communications and resource request capabilities between city, county and state emergency management and provide emergency responders with an opportunity to gain “hands on” experience with disaster response procedures.
As part of Vigilant Guard, the Oklahoma National Guard will exercise the utilization of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact to obtain Guard resources from other states. Units from Delaware, Louisiana and Texas will participate along with first responders from Warr Acres and Bethany.
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