Revisiting: Into the fire: A vacation in Central Oregon turns into a front-row view of a crisis

October 26, 2007

Copyright © 2007 PRSA. All rights reserved.

By Tom Hagley with C.J. Norvell

Editor’s note: As the Southern California wildfires enter their fifth day of destruction, we take a look back at the lessons learned from the Black Crater Fire in Central Oregon during the summer of 2006. The following article appeared in the summer 2007 issue of The Strategist.

On Monday, July 24, 2006, my wife, Peggy, our Coton de Tulear, Truffles, and I rode into the town of Sisters to vacation in Central Oregon. Instead, we became victims of a wildfire that caused evacuations of residences surrounding the town. Command of emergency services passed quickly from local to regional to federal control as this became the nation’s top-priority fire.

I observed the management of public information throughout the crisis. In this article, I am joined by C.J. Norvell to challenge readers of Tactics and The Strategist Online to follow the incident timeline, note crisis communication actions you would take and compare your thoughts with what C.J. and I have designated as points of importance.

Black Crater Fire Timeline, 2006

Sunday, July 23
Lightning storm starts fire 10 miles southwest of Sisters.

Monday, July 24
Fire is discovered this morning on Black Crater in Three Sisters Wilderness.

Tuesday, July 25
4:44 p.m.  Firefighters struggle — 120 acres ablaze in dense, beetle-killed timber.

Wednesday, July 26
1:57 p.m. Winds have caused fire to triple in size — 300 acres ablaze.

10:48 p.m.  Almost 200 firefighters with 13 engines, two bulldozers, an air tanker and a helicopter try to keep the 820-acre blaze from spreading toward Crossroads subdivision.

Thursday, July 27
11:23 a.m.  Evacuation plans ready for Crossroads and Tollgate subdivisions.

1:45 p.m.  Fire is two miles from the line that would trigger evacuation.

4:15 p.m.  Crossroads and Edgington Road area residences evacuated. Sisters High School designated evacuation center. Red Cross registers evacuees. Tollgate subdivision placed on notice.

6:53 p.m.  Town meeting scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the high school. Fire within three-quarters of a mile of trigger point for evacuation of  Tollgate and within 1.75 miles for evacuation of Sisters.

9:45 p.m.  Fire grows to 1,700 acres, forces evacuation of 600 residents. Fire is 2.5 miles from Crossroads; Tollgate subdivision put on notice. Fire is about a half-mile from demarcation line for evacuation.

Friday, July 28
11:31 a.m.  Fire has grown to 2,684 acres.

11:48 a.m. Nearby National Forest lands closed; campers advised to leave.

12:59 p.m. Winds expected to increase by 3 p.m.

1:40 p.m.  “High possibility” that Tollgate and “reasonable possibility” that Sisters will be evacuated by tonight.

5:34 p.m.  Black Crater Fire now top-priority fire in the nation.

Saturday, July 29
11:17 a.m.  Good chance Tollgate subdivision will be evacuated Saturday or Sunday, officials tell about 800 homeowners at town meeting. Fire — more than 4,700 acres — 5 percent contained.

3:52 p.m.  Wind picks up. Tollgate residents told to evacuate.

9:30 p.m.  Officials announce a 50-50 chance that Sisters may be evacuated by late Sunday morning.

Sunday, July 30
8:15 a.m. Firefighters work all night Saturday to secure eight-mile section of eastern and northeastern perimeter of fire where it has been pushing hard toward residential areas.

11:31 a.m.  Winds gust 25 mph to 35 mph.

3 p.m.  Fire crews work to hold ground.

8:30 p.m.  Northwest Oregon Interagency Incident Management Team Type II hands command of fire to federal-level Southern Area Blue Team Type I.

Monday, July 31
8:15 a.m.  Firefighters on offensive — fire covers 9,000 acres.

5:06 p.m.  Sheriff announces Tollgate residents may return home at 6 tonight.

Tuesday, Aug. 1
11:30 a.m.  Black Crater Fire incident commander tells smaller-than-usual crowd at morning town meeting, “All indications are that you folks will be back in your homes this afternoon.”

5 p.m.  Crossroads and Edgington Road residents allowed to return to homes.

6:28 p.m. Firefighters gain a strong hold on 9,200-acre fire area.

Thursday, Aug. 3
1:20 p.m.  Fire 50 percent contained.

Friday, Aug. 4
8:30 p.m.  Fire 70 percent contained. Full containment expected Sunday at 6 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 6
Fire 95 percent contained.

Points of importance
The Black Crater Fire will be remembered as a model of cooperation between citizens and firefighting personnel at all levels of government. The incident provides several crisis communication lessons that C.J. and I call “points of importance.”

Public information priority: “Firefighting comes first” is an attitude, not a viable principle. Public information must be prioritized in an operational strategy in order to get timely public support and cooperation.

One source: Especially with multiple services engaged, there must be one authoritative information source, in this case the Incident Command.

The whole truth: The command team told the townspeople, “Whether news is good or bad, you can count on us to tell you the whole truth.”

Walk the walk: Sit among 800 people voicing questions, concerns and anxieties to appreciate the importance of providing information quickly, accurately and in great detail.

Details: Citizens want specific information. What exactly was accomplished today? How was it done? What resources were used? What’s the plan for tonight and tomorrow morning? What additional resources are needed? Are we going to have them? If not, why? How will residents be notified of an evacuation? Will there be a pre-alert? How much time will there be between the pre-alert and the evacuation order? Will the town be notified all at once or in phases and, if so, in what sequence? What about pets? Livestock? Should residents leave doors unlocked?  Will “Reverse 911” phone notification include cell phones?

Answers: Citizens’ questions must be answered — all of them. In a town meeting, one question was asked three different ways by three different people, and each query was treated with respect as though it were asked for the first time.

Two-way exchange: Give people what they want to know, then have them listen to what they need to know.

Scheduled updates: Public briefings were held on a regular schedule (10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. daily).

News media: Incident Command treated reporters as partners, conducted frequent briefings, and took reporters and photographers on trips to the fire line.

Experts: People want to receive information face-to-face from those in charge — the sheriff, incident commander, meteorologist, fire behavior analyst, state fire marshal, Department of Forestry representatives, area Red Cross officials, local fire chief or U.S. Forest Service personnel. When the federal Southern Area Incident Management Command took charge, members were perceived by residents as outsiders until the commander, when introduced, said with a smile and typical Southern drawl, “I may talk slow, but I fight fires real fast.” Instantly, the new team had a rapport with the hundreds of people attending the meeting.

Spike rumors: An evacuee, eager to get back into his home, stood outside and told people going into a town meeting that evacuated houses were being looted. Authorities opened the meeting by confronting the rumor with accurate information.

Updates: Information was delivered through print and broadcast media, a phone bank, Internet channels, bulletin board briefings at the town park and through what the command team called a trapline, a string of stores through town that staff would check daily to provide information and gather feedback from owners and customers.

Information challenges: As the local fire chief advised, “You can expect public information challenges in three areas: the situation itself, staffing and technology.”

Lowered boundaries: It was apparent to citizens that local, state and federal services dropped their boundaries to work cooperatively. When the Type II Northwest Interagency Incident Management Team gave command of the emergency to the federal Type I Southern Area Interagency Incident Management Blue Team, the Northwest team received a standing ovation from about 800 residents.

Related impacts: The Incident Team was careful not to alarm travelers planning to visit,  thinking of the negative economic impact the emergency could have on a small town.

Accept volunteer resources: ClearChannel.com provided free wireless Internet connections at the Red Cross evacuation center, along with 20 drops throughout town and free long-distance phone service. The Command Team welcomed an offer from the Sisters High School principal who volunteered the use of the school’s radio station. The team partnered with students, and Outlaw Radio 106.5 FM became a major information source. Public meetings, live and recorded, aired throughout the day, in addition to interviews of emergency service officials. Information was posted on the Web sites of The Nugget, Sisters’ weekly newspaper, and on the site of neighboring newspaper The Bend Bulletin.

Meeting place: Sisters High School became the evacuation center — conveniently located, able to accommodate nearly the entire town for meetings and fully equipped with a sound system, computer projection equipment, laser pointer, large screen, chairs and restrooms. Outlaw Radio 106.5 FM provided a feedback e-mail address.

Citizen interests: Areas of citizen interest, such as the location of power lines and the use of air support, must be addressed; they will not go away.

Tough stuff: Give tough-to-take instruction without hesitation. For example, “Once the evacuation order is given, you will not be permitted back into the area.”

Visuals: Project Web addresses and emergency help and information phone numbers on a screen, and give people plenty of time to copy them down.

Avoid jargon: Explain or avoid using jargon such as “containment,” “tractor line,” “hand line,” “water bar” and “emergency restoration work.”

Garner goodwill: The Sisters fire chief said to evacuees, “You can rest assured that we are taking good care of your property. We’re even watering your plants while you’re away.”

Mutual support: Meeting the challenge of a life- and property-threatening situation is an accomplishment to be recognized. Parents helped children make cookies and fudge to take to firefighters. Residents and merchants posted thank-you banners around town. One resident, during a public meeting, asked what more the town could do to show its appreciation, and the incident commander replied, “Just give them a smile and a wave.”

Celebrate success: As one official said, “I am not sure we could have had a more comprehensive program. In return, the community held a social for the firefighters and served us pie and ice cream.”

 

Tom Hagley is an instructor of public relations at the University of Oregon and this year’s recipient of the School of Journalism’s Jonathan Marshall Award for innovative teaching. He is the author of “Writing Winning Proposals: PR Cases.” E-mail: thagley@uoregon.edu.

C.J. Norvell is a public affairs specialist with the U.S. Forest Service on the Ouachita National Forest in Oklahoma and Arkansas. She serves as an information officer on the Southern Area Incident Management Blue Team, one of 16 national teams in the United States.

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