On Saturday, June 14th, Blue Lake Rancheria’s (BLR) Office of Emergency Services (OES) conducted a disaster response exercise with 𝗢𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗶𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 (ODART) and McKinleyville Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). Emergency Manager Andrew Bogar and OES Outreach Coordinator Brittaney Lewis participated in this response exercise to better understand the logistics of having supplies delivered from Oregon via airlift to Humboldt County in the event of a major disaster event.
“How many times on a good day is Highway 299 cut off, or Highway 36 cut off, not even in a disaster?” Andrew Bogar asked. We face a unique set of challenges in our area, with one of the major challenges being the vulnerability of our highway systems. Here at BLR we plan for these events to be prepared for any situation that could arise in the future.
Cliff Vancott, Team Leader of McKinleyville CERT, coordinated the Ham Radio communication with the responding organization as they were on route. This was to ensure that in the case of a real emergency like this, coordination would be possible without cell phone communication.
Curtis Matteson, an experienced volunteer pilot of ODART, flew into ACV around 12:00PM, and within an hour, our OES team was able to offload 400 pounds of food and water. For this exercise, we donated the supplies that were received to our Elders Food Program and community partners, and we are now establishing what kind of distribution network we would need to get these supplies to people in the most efficient manner.
Originally Published: 6/17/2025