About Us
History and Development in the White Mountain Area
One of the lessons learned after the Rodeo/Chediski Fire, during the 2003 wildfires that devastated California, and the hurricanes in the south was the need to have a single source of information available to the public relating to the emergency in progress. Currently during such events the public often has to contact various agencies to determine information such as evacuation routes and evacuation centers, what to do with their pets, special health care needs, a report on the smoke in the air, wildfire or other incidents, volunteer opportunities, and a multitude of other types of inquiries. The joint information center is a “one-stop shopping” facility where the caller will be able to receive accurate information regarding the incident (ie wildfire, public health emergency, hazardous material spill, natural disaster) and other pertinent information needed to facilitate desired public action.
The concept of forming a joint information center was first presented to the Northeast Arizona Fire Chief’s Association in January, 2004 and that group encouraged the further development of the concept. Subsequently many partners have been working together to work out the logistics and planning details and have recruited volunteers to help staff the center. These volunteers have been through a training session to help ensure quality “customer service.”
The joint information center will be activated when a threat or perceived threat becomes apparent in southern Navajo or southern Apache counties and where there is a need to communicate with the public. It can be activated at the request of an incident commander or a public information officer from a number of federal, state, or county agencies and will be de-activated when the need for a center no longer exists. The center will be managed by a lead information officer with assistance from agency liaisons.
Since the lifeline of a joint information center is the phone/data lines, Frontier Communications was asked to participate and they have been an integral component in the planning and eventual installation of phones and infrastructure in the center. Other partners include: Navajo County (Emergency Management, Health Department), Apache County (Emergency Management, Health Department), Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, fire departments from across the White Mountains but particularly Pinetop, Lakeside, and Show Low, and Amateur Radio Communications.
The center will be located in Apache County at the Springerville Elementary School or in Navajo County at the Lakeside Fire Department. The center will produce information to be posted to this website. People needing information from the center during an emergency can dial “593” and talk to a trained volunteer. The “593” system is operational now but during non-emergency times, a caller will be given a choice by county to hear a recorded message pertaining to local emergency management, health alerts or concerns, and wildfires or prescribed fires in progress.
