Fire district training drills set for this month

Drill, baby, drill.

It’s not just a Sarah Palin slogan. Locally, it’s the approach Skagit County Fire District 13 is taking to prepare for emergency and disaster scenarios in greater La Conner.

The fire district has planned two major training drills this month – a June 26 exercise at the La Conner Marina and a wildland fire practice session June 27 on the Swinomish Reservation.

The district held a windstorm training exercise on March 30.

The drills are designed to prepare fire district personnel and neighboring firefighters and emergency medical technicians – including La Conner Hook & Ladder – for the variety of situations a major blaze can pose both in woodlands and along shorelines.

Training officer Chris Olbu told district commissioners at their June 13 meeting that Hook & Ladder, Skagit Bay Search & Rescue and Swinomish Tribal Police are among the agencies invited to join the marina drill.

The district has previously conducted such exercises at the Shelter Bay Marina, Olbu said.

“This is a good opportunity to see a different setup,” he said. “We’re looking forward to learning some good lessons to better serve the community.”

The drill at La Conner Marina will take place in the north basin area, where the facility’s major boatbuilding and repair firms are located.

The wildland fire training will have two parts, said district emergency management coordinator Capt. Ted Taylor.

He described the first part as a “boots-on-the-ground field exercise.”

District Capt. Gary Ladd said the script starts with a motorist on Reservation Road witnessing smoke in nearby woods and calling on-duty firefighters to investigate. The scenario will progress from there, said Ladd.

“It will test our ability to analyze the situation in the field,” Taylor said.

The second segment of the training is a tabletop exercise addressing emergency evacuation options for the Swinomish and Shelter Bay communities.

“There are huge communications challenges to be solved,” Taylor said, noting the different entities and volunteer groups that would be involved in an actual evacuation.

He said the district is seriously looking at what he termed “Operation Dunkirk,” evacuating people by boat across Swinomish Channel.

“I would not rely on that as a primary option, though,” Taylor said.

In other District 13 business:

Commissioners voted to accept a donation to the district of $500,000 from the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. Fire Chief Wood Weiss said Swinomish has also helped the district secure important grant awards and impact fees. Commissioner J.J. Wilbur, a member of the Swinomish Tribal Senate, abstained. Wilbur had also abstained a week earlier when the La Conner School Board, of which he is also a member, voted to accept a similar donation from the Swinomish Tribe.