2013 Colorado Floods, Boulder s Emergency Air Rescues; A Military and Animal Control Collaboration

Transcription

1 Colorado Floods, Boulder s Emergency Air Rescues; A Military and Animal Control Collaboration October 1, 2015 National Animal Control Association Conference Baltimore, Maryland Janee Boswell Animal Control Supervisor Boulder Police Department President Colorado Association of Animal Control Officers Year Colorado Flood 25 year event - Boulder Creek in City of Boulder 5,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) 500 year event - Lyons St Vrain River over 25,000 cfs year - Multi County Region Event 17 Colorado Counties (Boulder, Larimer, Jefferson, and Weld Counties hit the hardest) Boulder County Human Population 305, square miles Est.pet population 156, AVMA pet ownership calculator 1

2 Flood Predictions Boulder County PREDICTED ACTUAL Statistics Boulder County Deaths: 4 Homes destroyed: 345 Homes damaged: 557 Structures impacted by flooding 10,400 People evacuated by air: 1,102 People evacuated by road: 707 Miles of county roads damaged: Approximately 150 2

3 Preparation was crucial OEM began outreach to the mountain communities Meetings Brochures Preparation Plan Climb to Safety Temporary shelters and meeting points were identified Caches were set up at viable venues Wednesday September 11, The Rain Began. Nine inches of rain in 24 hours total of seventeen plus inches in 5 days recorded in Boulder County (where average annual rain is 15 inches) 3

4 8 Day Event Local Resources: 3 Animal Control Jurisdictions Boulder Animal Control (City)- 6 officers Boulder County Animal Control -5 officers Longmont Animal Control (City) -4 officers 2 Small Animal shelters Humane Society of Boulder Valley Longmont Humane Society 1 Large Animal/Livestock Facilities Boulder County Fairgrounds Additional Resources State EOC / PetAid Colorado Veterinarian Reserve Corps 2 Additional Animal Control Jurisdictions Westminster PD Jefferson County SO 2 National Animal Response Organizations Code 3 and Associates American Humane 1 Fairground Facility (Budweiser Event Center Budweiser Events Center City of Boulder 4

5 Inside the Residence Animal Control at work 2 Human lives were saved 59 homes where animals sheltered in place 63 animals housed at co-located shelters 299 Animals rescued on the ground 400 animals impounded at humane societies or fairgrounds Animals evacuated from helicopters and moved through Airport staging location Staffing the Various locations and duties County EOC 3 Jurisdictions for ground Evacuations City of Boulder City of Longmont Boulder County 4 Co-Located Shelters (3 at one time) Helicopter Evacuation (mountain communities) Subsequent off-site staging area 5

6 County EOC ESF21 Rescue on the ground Boulder Police Animal Control Boulder SO Animal Control Longmont Animal Control Code 3 and Associates American Humane Association National Guard/Army State Task Forces (CO,MO,NE, NV,UT) 6

7 American Humane & Boulder County American Humane Code 3 & Associates Lessons Learned Utilization of regional/state resources Need for personnel (multiple operational periods) 7

8 22 Shelter Intakes Adoptable animals moved to non-affected area shelters Rescue animals isolation area Animals housed in groups (same families) Impounded with supplies/food/beds -labeled Animals identified paperwork completed entry made in computer hard copies stayed with animal Veterinary Care obtained if needed 8

9 Co-Located Shelters Niwot LifeBridge YMCA Boulder Coors Event Center 9

10 Staging Area/Co-Located Shelter Niwot High school Supplies and Donations 10

11 Lessons Learned Human Shelter open in flooded area relocate 3 co-located operating at one time Need for personnel (multiple operational periods) Need for veterinarians Supplies misallocated (equipment trailer) Human shelter that wouldn t house animals inside - Coors Event Center Red Cross Co-located shelter Regional Assistance Jeffco Shelter Trailer & Personnel 11

12 people remained near their animals 12

13 Incident Command Post Boulder Municipal Airport 13

14 Helicopter Evacuation/ Airport Operations 42 Greatest number of American s rescued by air evacuations since Hurricane Katrina Greatest number of animals ever rescued by air evacuations 43 Air Evacuations ARMY, WY & Ft. Carson National Guard, US&R, State Task Forces, Salt Lake USAR 14

15 No animal will be left behind Lt. Col. Mitch Utterback People evacuated by air: 1,102 Animals evacuated by air: Dogs, Cats, Turtles, Parakeets, Cockatoo, Ferrets, Geese, Rabbits, Fresh and Salt water Fish, Chickens, mice, gerbils, guinea pigs, 1 Monkey Challenges Inexperienced individuals handling animals Lack of Equipment No animal training 15

16 Airport Operations Unloading Animals from Helicopters Holding in a staging area Evaluate for injuries Locate owners Arranging for transport to animal shelter (when needed) Re-loading onto bus to staging location 16

17 17

18 3 Helicopter's of children from a Camp 85 children, 15 adults 18

19 Ability to be flexible /Improvise Department of Homeland Security 19

20 Preparation Animals were planned for Friends Family Neighbors Innovation 20

21 Water Buckets Animal Containment Lunch boxes/coolers turtles Plastic barrel (approx 30 gal)- chickens Plastic hamper with cardboard securing the top- cats Laundry basket with towels taped to secure the top- dogs and cats transported like this Two laundry baskets taped together containing dogs Three chickens in a 55 gal. trash can with holes in the lid TV box taped shut cats inside Shoeboxes mice, hamster Duffel bags/ Luggage- all types of animals Garbage bags fish Rubbermaid containers all types of animals Monkey was tucked in the woman s shirt during and after transport POSED SOME HAZARDS! 21

22 Utilization of Resources Local Businesses MuGuckin Hardware Petsmart Partners Humane Society of Boulder Valley Volunteers Veterinary Care Utah Task Force 1 Dr. Laura Madsen Additional Assistance Colorado River Fire rescue Assigned to the airport animal evac ground team 22

23 SWIFT -State Wildland Inmate Fire Team Assigned to the airport animal evac ground team Aided in the assembly and organization of animal carriers Erected the stand-alone tent/shade! Provided animal monitoring Offered assistance Provided MUSCLE SWIFT at work 23

24 September 19, 2013 Completed demobilization of all co-located shelters 8 facilities were used to house animals Over 1100 animals rescued/housed/handled Animal Shelters continued to hold animals until October 31, 2013 Foster Care Shelter Facility After the Flood Normal Operations Equipment Operational function as animal control Personnel Impacts on personal lives Damages Main roadways repaired months later Tourism/tourist attractions affected Infrastructure still in disarray Residents still displaced Plan and Prepare for the next event Boulder Airport Days Michelle Grainger Salinas, CO 24

25 I am most proud of my role in ensuring the pets came out. More than anything else I ve done with disaster response in the Guard, taking care of the pets meant the most to me. I feel good every time I think about it. I want everyone to know how important we consider pets and how much the country has learned since Katrina. An animal lover too, Mitch 73 Janee Boswell Supervisor Boulder Police Animal Control rd Street Boulder, CO