A Salute to “Rosies” Past and Present
Jasmine May2024-05-01T20:51:13-07:00It never hurts to look back on our history, if for no other reason than to avoid repeating it!
Not Nearly Enough
Jasmine May2024-04-19T16:33:48-07:00Even predictable natural disasters frequently catch elected officials by surprise. A discouraging number of elected officials and senior staff act as if foreseeing and managing potential disaster impacts is a job for “another budget cycle.” So what are they doing in the meantime? Not nearly enough”.
After the Wildfire – Recovery and Reclamation of Land Tips
Jasmine May2024-04-05T17:48:51-07:00After the Wildfire – Recovery and Reclamation of Land Tips By Nancy Aird As the population builds out into rural areas, the chances of wildfire impacting your life increases with damage possible away from the direct wildfire. The severity of the fire impacts not only the vegetation we see, but the soil structure and microbial community beneath. Slopes damaged by wildfire are prone to accelerated soil erosion, floods, and landslides (debris flow) from damaged vegetation and roots that protected the soil. Evaluation of burn conditions on the land after a fire often uses 3 definitions to describe how the soil [...]
Are You Wildfire Ready?
Jasmine May2024-04-05T03:09:53-07:00ARE YOU WILDFIRE READY? Mitigate, Prepare and Prevent By Nancy Aird The wildland urban interface (WUI) is the area where homes are built near or among lands prone to wildland fire. Homeowners value their privacy, natural beauty, recreational opportunities and affordable living created by buying in neighborhoods built in these areas. As a result, rural fire districts more often have to fight fire and protect homes and property within these wildland urban interface areas. Mitigation accepts we cannot prevent everything from happening. Wildfires and other disasters cannot be eliminated. They will always impact on people, property and resources. The spark that sets [...]
What Goes Around…
Jasmine May2024-03-19T21:38:40-07:00The Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) program has long been the life’s blood of state and local government’s ability to prepare, mitigate, respond, and recover from disasters.
Goldilocks Zone Resilience Against Climate Change
Jasmine May2024-03-08T20:51:54-08:00Weather specifically happens over a period of hours or days, while climate influences show over years.
Why We Need More Women in Leadership Roles!
Jasmine May2024-03-07T23:58:59-08:00From 2015 to 2018, the Center put on four Women in Leadership Forums centered on different topics from HSEM, Criminal Justice, Information Technology, and Politics.
Whodunnitt!
Jasmine May2024-03-19T20:04:50-07:00WHODUNNITT! By Jim Mullen I have observed the renewal of a “debate” of sorts that seems to preoccupy some emergency management academics and practitioners: aren’t most disasters man- made and not ”natural?” -an interesting proposition if there weren’t more pragmatic concerns for emergency managers. We could trace our problems all the way back to the Original Sin, but I prefer focusing on mitigating our hazard vulnerabilities. Speaking recently to University of Washington graduate students about hazard mitigation, I described Seattle Project Impact’s (SPI) success at illuminating the benefits of confronting known hazards (earthquake in Seattle) through a grass roots, whole-community [...]
Volunteer to Change the World by Planting Trees
Jasmine May2023-04-27T01:03:14-07:00Volunteer to Change the World by Planting Trees Trees are Resilience Equalizers By Nancy Aird Arbor Day (April 28) encourages us to join the world in making a step to resolving disparity, inequality and environmental justice for mankind by reforesting rural and urban land. Nature-poor neighborhoods negatively impact social, economic, and wellness of residents. Joining forces in planting even 1 million trees will start the change by absorbing 24,000 tons of CO2, stabilizing climate, releasing oxygen, restoring fish and animal habitat, and working on neighborhood tree equity urban heat island effects. The Washington Tree Equity Collaborative was created [...]
National Volunteer Month Volunteers Supporting Community Resiliency
Jasmine May2023-04-27T00:55:19-07:00National Volunteer Month Volunteers Supporting Community Resiliency By Linda Crerar Society needs resilient communities. Volunteering is a major engagement tool with open positions available in most communities. Joining people together helps to achieve stronger shared goals, strengthens trust and relationships as stronger bonds of solidarity are forged by creating strategies for managing risks. Localized volunteering helps communities organize, set priorities, and take ownership of local needs. Community volunteer are frequently the first responders and may be the only source of available help available in a crisis. They help provide better interpretations of information to immediate crises with the [...]