Loud Night Air Traffic Not Related to Planned Disaster Exercise

Several government agencies combine to conduct emergency response exercises. A component of the exercise series will take place on Orcas on June 13. "The Evergreen Quake Exercise 2012 is a series of three exercises intended to test the response and recovery capability of local, state, federal, tribal governments, and private sector entities located within the eight-county Puget Sound metro area."

Updated June 11 at 10 a.m.

By Margie Doyle

Several Orcas Islanders were startled late June 5, last Tuesday night, and reported hearing and seeing an extremely loud and low-flying jet flying over the island around 11 p.m.

Pam Harney said, “It woke my husband and I up and our view is south/west. It created the loudest noise I have heard outside of an air show.

“The strangest part was that the exterior of the plane appeared to be flying with its tail down and nose up and was surrounded by RED lights! I know–sounds bizarre and looked bizarre.  ”

Others in the Rosario Highlands area also reported a loud, low-flying plane, but officials Brendan Cowan , Director of the County Department of Emergency Management (DEM) and Mark Clemens, Public Information Officer,  involved with the second phase of the Evergreen Quake Exercise Series said that there was no connection between what islanders experienced on June 5  and  the Earthquake Exercise Series.

That operation calls for two US Army Reserve Chinook CH-47 helicopters to depart Joint Base Lewis-McChord loaded with mock emergency relief supplies bound for Orcas and San Juan Islands on the morning of Wednesday June 13. The  logistics exercise is planned for Orcas Island to determine “How soon and how efficiently can food, water, medicine and other critical supplies reach a Puget Sound region devastated by a wave of earthquakes?

Cowan said, “Locally coordinated by the County/Town Department of Emergency Management, the exercise is designed to test the islands’ ability to receive and move critical supplies, and ensure that state and federal support agencies are familiar with local geography and capabilities.

“With extensive support from Port of Orcas and Port of Friday Harbor airport staff, local emergency response agencies, public works, and Terra Firma construction on Orcas for use of their fork lift, the exercise is a unique opportunity to practice the sort of logistics support that will likely be required by our communities following a major earthquake.”

The Washington State Department of Emergency Management (DEM) announced that the three-day exercise (June 12-14)  will be “a far flung ‘boots-on-the-ground’ enterprise,” featuring “land, air and sea transportation of commodities, medical supplies, mobile facilities, power generators and emergency workers from around and outside the region to multiple sites in King, Kitsap, Pierce, San Juan, Snohomish and Thurston counties.

The details of the San Juans Material Re-Supply Mission include delivery of medical supplies to facilities on San Juan and Orcas islands  between noon and 2 p.m.:
. Pallets of boxes will simulate actual supplies.
• Delivery to Friday Harbor Airport for local hospital on San Juan Island.
• Delivery to Orcas Island Airport to re-supply a local clinic.

“The Logistic Exercise is the second phase of the 2012 Evergreen Quake Exercise Series (EQES) that kicked off with a response exercise for emergency operations centers, June 5-6.”

The Lead agencies in the local exercise are the Wash. State Dept. of Health and San Juan County Dept. of Emergency Management. The point of the three-day Evergreen Logistics Exercise is for the government to test “its ability to come through with the goods, post-disaster.”

For questions about the exercise, please contact Emergency Management Director Brendan Cowan, 360-298-0455 or brendanc@sanjuandem.net

Other region-wide exercises will include:

• June 12-14—First-time setup and operation by local jurisdictions of a Federal Medical Station in Puyallup.
• June 13—The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) delivers and operates a massive Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) emergency power generator at Seattle Center.
• June 14—Hands-on operation of Community Points of Distribution (CPODs) in Marysville, Lynnwood, Bainbridge Island, Suquamish and Lacey with emergency workers passing out truck-delivered, pre-packaged meals and bottled water to volunteers posing as citizens picking up goods.
• June 14—A Chinook helicopter from Joint Base Lewis-McChord flies Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel from SeaTac to serve as emergency workers at the Suquamish Community House CPOD.