Aviation teams rise to meet challenges during disaster response exercise | Department of Transportation

Aviation teams from across the nation joined forces June 7-10 in Olympia to participate in "Cascadia Rising" – a disaster response exercise in preparation for a major earthquake to hit the Pacific Northwest. The exercise scenario included a magnitude 9.0 earthquake rupturing the 800-mile Cascadia Subduction Zone fault line, followed by aftershocks and tsunamis.

June 20, 2016 7:16 pm

Aviation teams from across the nation joined forces June 7-10 in Olympia to participate in “Cascadia Rising” – a disaster response exercise in preparation for a major earthquake to hit the Pacific Northwest. The exercise scenario included a magnitude 9.0 earthquake rupturing the 800-mile Cascadia Subduction Zone fault line, followed by aftershocks and tsunamis.

The Washington State Department of Transportation’s Aviation Emergency Coordination Center (AECC) served as the operations hub for the Air Operations Branch responding to the mock disaster. Aviation personnel from various organizations coordinated closely to assess damage to Washington’s airports, mobilize assets and identify areas for follow up and improvement.

“Cascadia Rising gave us opportunities to grow and be challenged,” said Tristan Atkins, WSDOT director of aviation. “WSDOT will build on the strengths and lessons learned from this exercise to better equip us and our airports for when the big one hits.”

Agencies that staffed the AECC included:

  • Civil Air Patrol
  • Joint Incident Site Communications Capability, Kansas Air National Guard
  • 194th Air Support Operations Group, Washington Air National Guard
  • Washington State Guard
  • United States Northern Command
  • Washington Military Department
  • 66th Theater Aviation Command, Washington Army National Guard
  • Northwest Regional Aviation / law enforcement aviation
  • Federal Aviation Administration
  • Joint Forces Headquarters, Washington National Guard

One aviation team – the Joint Incident Site Communications Capability (JISSC) – traveled all the way from Kansas to take part in the exercise. Their primary role was to provide personnel in the AECC with Internet, radio and phone access – a job that will be particularly challenging during a real disaster.

“We tried to make this exercise as close to real life as possible,” said JISSC Chief Master Sergeant James Helms. “That meant holding back communication resources from crews to simulate what conditions would really be like in this type of crisis scenario.”

Aviation teams also emerged from the three-day exercise with strengthened partnerships.

 

“It was a great experience to be in Olympia and work in WSDOT’s AECC,” added CMSgt Helms. “WSDOT staff was hospitable and provided a wonderful experience. We look forward to our growing partnership.”