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In this episode of ClackCo Works, Daniel Nibouar, Director of the Office of Disaster Management for Clackamas County, shares how his team prepares for emergencies like wildfires, floods, and earthquakes. He explains how the Emergency Operations Center brings people and resources together to keep the community safe during disasters. Daniel also talks about the value of teamwork, training, and working with other agencies. Listeners will pick up practical tips, such as signing up for alerts and building emergency kits. Tune in to hear real stories and learn how you can be ready for anything.
Transcript
Dylan: Welcome to ClackCo Works, where we have conversations with people who work for Clackamas County and the community. I'm Dylan Blaylock with Public and Government Affairs. Today, we're here with Daniel Nibouar, Director of the Office of Disaster Management at Clackamas County. Thanks for being here.
Daniel: Thanks for having me.
Dylan: To start, what does disaster management do?
Daniel: We help the community prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters by creating plans, conducting training, and running exercises. During a response, we coordinate resources and efforts, working with other county departments, government agencies, nonprofits, and private organizations to minimize the impact of natural or man-made disasters. We also promote emergency preparedness through community presentations and campaigns like the "ClackGo Prepared" campaign.
Dylan: What kinds of emergencies do you prepare for?
Daniel: There's a wide range, from small to large. We take an all-hazards approach, planning for the functions needed to respond to any major event. Hazards include landslides, volcano eruptions, droughts, tornadoes, wildfires, extreme heat and cold, winter storms, floods, and earthquakes. For extreme weather, we work with partners to open warming or cooling centers, clear transportation routes, and check on at-risk community members.
Dylan: It seems like sheltering is a common need in disasters. Is that fair?
Daniel: That's a fair assessment. Our job is to take care of people, which may mean sheltering or setting up disaster resource centers to provide resources and information people need to survive and thrive.
Dylan: What happens when there's a disaster? What is the Emergency Operations Center (EOC)?
Daniel: We're not first responders like police or fire. Our role is more managerial and focused on coordination. The EOC is a central point for coordinating county departments and partners. We support on-scene responders, direct county response operations, manage evacuations, alerting, sheltering, and resource flow, and always think ahead about how incidents could grow and how to inform people.
Dylan: Some emergencies we can anticipate, but others are sudden. How do you get notified?
Daniel: Sometimes we get very short notice, usually through 911 or our dispatch center. They notify us when things reach a certain threshold or when first response partners request our assistance. Then, a lot of people get my calls.
Dylan: Walk us through what happens in the EOC during, say, a wildfire.
Daniel: When we get a notification, our duty officer calls dispatch to find out what's going on and what's requested. If an evacuation is imminent, dispatch begins notifications. We coordinate with law enforcement, get notifications approved, and work with GIS for evacuation maps and Public and Government Affairs for public messaging. If the evacuation will last, we formally activate the EOC to a higher level and call in more county partners to take care of people, including health, housing, human services, and transportation.
Dylan: What are the sections within the EOC?
Daniel: There's the command group, which interfaces with county administration and commissioners. The operations section does the work—opening shelters, checking roads, putting out alerts. The planning section gathers and verifies information, writes plans for the next day, and tracks what needs to be done if the incident grows. Logistics gets what we need—food, water, facilities. Finance tracks costs and ensures we pay for things properly, which is important for reimbursement from the state or federal government.
Dylan: How do you work with county partners and emergency response units like fire and police?
Daniel: We're always in constant communication with first responder partners, understanding their needs and the situation. Sometimes they have someone in the EOC with us, or we send someone to their command post. For example, during the Camp Creek fire, we sent someone to the federal incident management team, which was valuable for information sharing. As soon as we sense a need, we try to get someone in person because that works best.
Dylan: People aren't just thrown into these roles. How do you train for them?
Daniel: We hold EOC Academy once or twice a year. Staff, whether familiar with the EOC or not, can come and learn about the sections and how the EOC operates. We also hold exercises, from simple tabletop discussions to large-scale wildfire exercises where we activate the EOC and open shelters. This helps us work out communication, coordination, and operational kinks.
Dylan: What are one or two things you wish everyone in the county would do to prepare?
Daniel: First, go to the county public alerts page and sign up for alerts. That's the easiest way for us to notify you if something is happening near your home or business. Second, check out our "ClackGo Prepared" campaign, which shows you how to sign up for alerts, know your evacuation routes, and build a kit so you can evacuate quickly if needed. It also has other valuable information for disaster preparedness.
Dylan: Thank you, Daniel, for your work and for being on the show.
Daniel: Thanks so much.