First responders practice marina and wildland firefighting exercises

If practice makes perfect and perfect needs practice, area firefighters and emergency responders are perfectly practiced and practically perfect.

This after Swinomish Reservation and The Port of Skagit's La Conner Marina were sites last week of major multi-department training exercises that participants lauded afterward for their realism and long-term value.

Skagit County Fire District 13 Training Officer Capt. Chris Olbu scripted a drill for June 26 that challenged several agencies, led by La Conner Fire Department, with the prospect of a mid-dock fire at the marina south basin that spreads to several vessels, one of which breaks its lines and is cast adrift to the west side of Swinomish Channel.

"Chris came up with a script and it's up to us to implement it," La Conner Fire Chief Aaron Reinstra said.

Olbu said the La Conner drill was important on many levels, perhaps mostly because the prior three local marina training sessions were held at Shelter Bay. Switching to La Conner Marina, said Olbu, allowed responders to become more familiar with that venue's layout, including hydrant placement.

"When you have different situations, you often need to use different tactics," Olbu said.

La Conner and District 13 were joined at the marina by Swinomish Tribal Police, Skagit Bay Search & Rescue, personnel from the Sinclair and Marathon refineries, and new harbormaster Charlie Knapp with Port of Skagit colleagues.

"We're glad they're here," Knapp said. "It's definitely a win-win situation for everybody."

Olbu said that marina fires can spread quickly so it's essential for emergency crews to know the terrain to ensure an efficient response and prepare backup plans.

"It's scary how fast a marina fire can go," Olbu said. "It doesn't take much time for neighboring boats to be fully involved. The key thing is to get there quickly."

Participation levels were high for both the marina drill and wildland fire training on the reservation June 27.

"The hard thing with a training for multiple departments is trying to come up with a time when we can all get together," Reinstra said.

All agreed that cooperation and interaction between agencies was a huge bonus. District 13 Fire Chief Wood Weiss worked from the Swinomish Police fire boat during the marina training.

The wildland fire scenario, including an evacuation component, assumed a fast-growing blaze with a red-flag ­danger on Fidalgo Island. The exercise portrayed a rapidly moving and expanding fire threatening the wooded areas of Swinomish Village, Shelter Bay and the rest of the reservation.

The drill, outlined by District 13 Capt. Gary Ladd, started with a motorist driving east on Reservation Road seeing smoke to the north, about a quarter-mile behind the Shaker Church.

The exercise drew in participants from multiple fire departments, Swinomish Police, public health officials, emergency medical teams, the state Department of Natural Resources and others.

DNR capped the training by landing and refueling of one of its helicopters at John K. Bob Ball Park.

As was the case with the marina drill, those taking part in the wildland fire exercise praised the levels of communication, cooperation and teamwork.

Swinomish Police Officer Char Derrick said she found the wildfire and evacuation sessions especially meaningful.

"This is my home," she said. "My children are here."

"Just doing the drill is a huge plus," said Brian Geer, formerly of Swinomish and now with the county Department of Emergency Management. "It's important that we all had a chance to train together and be face to face with one another."

District 13 Commission chair Bruce Shellhamer agreed.

"It really helped to have someone in the command center who knew the right questions to ask," he said, adding that the training was "immensely helpful" and "builds confidence" for those who could be called upon to respond in an actual emergency.

Town of La Conner Emergency Management Commission member Jim White extolled the benefits of a training "like this, at this scale."

The evacuation plan, comprising traffic routes and crowd management, was subject of a tabletop exercise aided by use of a detailed map provided by Swinomish.

"This is a great resource," said Capt. Ted Taylor, the District 13 emergency management coordinator.

Emergency management has been a focus in recent months. The Town of La Conner formed its emergency management panel in 2023 following saltwater flooded the waterfront and low-lying residential areas. Earlier this year, District 13 staged a windstorm training exercise on the Swinomish Reservation.