County Draft Hazard Mitigation Plan Available for Public Comment and Review
In February 2024, a coalition from Pend Oreille County which included County representatives, the Kalispel Tribe of Indians, the city of Newport, towns of Cusick, Ione, Metaline, and Metaline Falls, Pend Oreille County’s Conservation District, Public Utilities District, Port District, and Health District, all of its school districts, and its fire service providers throughout the County embarked on a planning process to prepare for impacts of disasters.
Responding to federal mandates in the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-390), the coalition was formed to pool resources and create a uniform hazard mitigation strategy that can be consistently applied to the defined planning area. This planning coalition has now completed that effort. The planning process was led by Pend Oreille County Office of Emergency Management with support from Bridgeview Consulting, LLC, the primary technical consultant. The project was funded, in part, by a planning grant from FEMA.
During this process, citizens were asked to contribute by sharing local knowledge of the County’s vulnerability to hazards based on past occurrences, as well as identify initiatives which could help reduce the level of impact of those hazards. Public involvement was solicited via a multi-media campaign that included: press releases; public council/board presentations and meetings; web-based information; questionnaires, and presentation at the County Fair.
The process culminated with the development of the Draft 2024 Pend Oreille County Multi-Jurisdiction Hazard Mitigation Plan, which is now available for public review and comment at the informational website established for this planning effort at:
Multi-Jurisdiction Hazard Mitigation Plan - Update | Pend Oreille County WA
A hard copy of the plan is available for review at the Pend Oreille County Commissioners’ Office, 625 W 4th Street, Newport.
The public is highly encouraged to provide input on the draft plan to JoAnn Boggs, Pend Oreille County Emergency Manager at JBoggs@pendoreille.org or via phone at (509) 447-3731, or the consultant providing assistance during development of this plan, Bev O’Dea at Bevodea@Bridgeviewconsulting.org (253) 301-1330. The comment period will begin November 19, 2024, and will run until December 9, 2024.
Want the PUD to come visit you?
Pend Oreille PUD wants to keep you and your family safe. We offer several informational tools and platforms to educate everyone from first responders to our local classrooms.
We offer a customized educational experience for your classroom (Grades k-12). Please email education@popud.org to set up a personalized educational visit today.
Working hand-in-hand with local First Responders is crucial to the safety of our community. We can offer presentations on safety, communications and come up with solutions to keep our community safe together. We are also available to work with you to develop a real-life senario and training. Please email education@popud.org to set up a training today.
The PUD is also available for different community events like the fair. We welcome all opportunities to share information and safety tips to the public. Email education@popud.org about your event to see if the PUD is available to participate.
Educational ideas are always welcomed via email to education@popud.org. You may also request different educational materials for your use.
Safety Tips
During the winter or even the summer winds, power lines can fall and when they do it is very dangerous. Here are a few tips that can help keep you safe!
If you ever see a downed power line call 911 and the PUD immediately.
Stay away from ANY downed power lines (even if you think they are de-energized) as far as possible and at a minimum of 35 feet (about a school bus length).
Never touch a downed power line (even if you think it is de-energized).
Stay away and do not touch any object (fence, hose, water) that is touching the downed power line and stay at a minimum of 35 feet away.
If a driving accident occurs where a vehicle has hit a pole or downed power line, it is crucial you remain in the vehicle until a emergency responder has told you it is safe to leave. If for any reason remaining in the car becomes too dangerous (fire), you must jump with both feet together (leaving the car at the same time) as far way from the car as possible and land with both feet together at the same time. Once landed it is important to shuffle your feet together and move as far as possible from the car. The minimum distance recommend is at least 35 feet from the car.
Substations are surrounded by fences for a reason, your protection. Never enter a substation to retrieve balls or other items that may have made it over the fence. Please call the PUD immediately to report any unusual activity or lost items to be recovered.
We want you to be safe when falling your trees. Before falling any trees around power lines, call the PUD. We offer a free consultation to come out and inspect any trees near power lines before you begin to cut. If a tree does fall onto a power line. please call us immediately to help.
Shots fired toward power lines could cause damage to lines, poles, insulators, transformers and other utility equipment. This could lead to outages in your neighborhood and expensive repairs. If you see any damages to utility equipment always call the PUD.
It is never safe to fly kites, drones or other objects near power lines. If your object does get caught in a power line, please let go and do not contact the object and call the PUD immediately to remove it. Safety is our number one priority and we would never charge you to recover an object in our power lines.
State law requires drivers to move out of the lane closest to a utility vehicle. If the driver cannot change lanes, it is required to slow down within 200 feet before and after a stopped emergency or utility vehicle with their lights flashing. Please help keep our crews safe by moving over or slowing down.
Utility poles may seem like a good place to post your signs, but it is extremely dangerous to you and our utility workers. Please help everyone stay safe by not posting signs on utility poles.
Scams come in all shapes and forms and everyone hears about them, but not everyone is prepared for them. Utility scams happen all the time and we want you protected.
Please remember:
-Our Customer Service Representatives will never take your payment over the phone. Customers must pay via our Pay by Phone secured line, in person or by using SmartHub.
-If you are ever unsure that the person on the phone is really from the PUD, please hang up and call 509-447-3137.
-All PUD employees must carry their employee badge with a photo and name clearly printed. If you are unsure that the person visiting your home is from the PUD you can always ask to see their badge, or call us at 509-447-3137 to confirm PUD crews are in your area.