What are the plans for people with nowhere else to go in cases of evacuations?

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — It’s peak fire season here in southern Idaho. Three major fires burned within our viewing area over the past several weeks, and some cabins in northern Blaine County were forced to evacuate as a result.

“The incident management team and the Sheriff’s department during the evacuation basically went door-to-door,” said Blaine county emergency manager, Chris Corwin.

Everyone was able to get out successfully, but viewers still had questions. Mainly, where can people go if they have no other shelter, and how do they leave if they don’t have any transportation? We received your emails, and we asked those very questions to the Blaine County E.M.A.

“We currently have a agreement with the Blaine County School District for the Community Campus,” said Corwin.

Community Campus houses C.S.I.’s classes, and is used as a shelter for those in Blaine County that have nowhere to go. There are also other locations such as the senior center in Hailey, and a few churches in Ketchum. What about getting transported there?

“Certainly, that would be a case-by-case scenario,” said Corwin. “I’m not going to lie; it hasn’t occurred yet.”

The first option? Utilizing law enforcement as transportation.

“Certainly, our law enforcement can certainly help people get places,” said Corwin.

The plans vary county-by-county. In Twin Falls, the region’s most populous county, there are some similarities.

“We can put them in hotels, we can set up sheltering with American Red Cross in our churches and schools,” said Twin Falls County E.M.A. coordinator, Jackie Frey.

Transportation-wise, Twin Falls County’s larger population allows for some more interesting resources.

“We’re going to rely on our school busses, we’re going to rely on secondary resources,” said Frey. “That means working with our sheriff’s department, making phone calls, getting that in place.”

Luckily, in past incidents, according to Frey, not many people have needed to utilize shelters.

“There’s a lot of people who are very self-sufficient,” she said.

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