Boots on the Ground: WCC deploys 37 to assist flood response efforts, 35 more on standby

WCC crew readies sandbag berm near Pend Oreille River at Newport.

Today, Friday, May 18, we will have 37 Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) members deployed to Eastern Washington to help communities in Okanogan and Pend Oreille counties respond to the most severe flooding the region has seen in more than 40 years.

Late last week, rain and high daytime temperatures caused significant snowpack melt, pushing many rivers out of their banks. Many local governments directly affected by flooding requested emergency assistance from our WCC AmeriCorps members and staff.

Our WCC crews are deployed to the following communities to help fill, stack and place sandbags to keep floodwaters out of people’s homes:

• 16 members and staff in Newport in Pend Oreille County.
• 18 members and staff in Okanogan in Okanogan County and Cusick in Pend Oreille County.
• Five members and staff in Tonasket in Okanogan County.



WCC members and staff filling sandbags

 in Cusick.

In addition, we have six more members and staff actively supporting a Department of Natural Resources base camp in Okanogan where more than 225 DNR, regional fire district, and other interagency staff are staying during the current flood response. Our responsibilities at the camp include organizing and loading supplies like pumps and hoses, loading trucks, and supporting facilities.

Should we receive additional assistance requests, we have another 35 members and staff on standby ready to deploy to help with flood response efforts.

On Friday, May 11, Gov. Jay Inslee issued a state of emergency to make resources available as flooding and high-risk conditions continue. A total of 20 Eastern Washington counties face potential flooding.

When local disasters such as flooding occur, local and tribal government partners and state officials often request on-the-ground assistance from our WCC.

The National Weather Service is predicting more flooding as hot weather drives more snowmelt to various river systems – especially the Okanogan, Similkameen, Kettle, and Pend Oreille rivers.

The WCC provides hands-on experience, field skills, and training opportunities to young adults between 18 and 25 and military veterans. Our 300 members and 53 field supervisors across the state restore critical habitat, build trails, and protect the state’s natural, historic and environmental resources. They also respond to out-of-state and local disasters.

Learn more about WCC

Ecology's Washington Conservation Corps, an AmeriCorps program, consists of three subprograms: the original WCC, Veteran Conservation Corps and Puget SoundCorps. We are currently recruiting for three-month AmeriCorps members positions. Recruitment for the 2018-19 year will begin in July! See photos of the types of projects WCC members support during their service in our WCC Projects Flickr set and WCC Featured Projects Story Map. Learn more and apply online today.

Boots on the Ground: WCC responds to severe flooding in Eastern Washington

WCC members and volunteers filling sandbags at 5 a.m. in Okanogan

This past weekend, we deployed several Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) crews to help the towns of Okanogan, Tonasket, and Cusick after rain, high daytime temperatures and significant snowpack melt caused severe flooding in Okanogan, Pend Oreille, and Ferry counties.

 

Our WCC AmeriCorps members and crew supervisors spent about 16 hours Saturday, May 12, assisting community efforts to fill, stack and place sandbags to keep floodwaters out of people’s homes.

On Friday, May 11, Gov. Jay Inslee issued a state of emergency to make resources available as flooding and high-risk conditions continue. A total of 20 Eastern Washington counties face potential flooding.

When local disasters such as flooding occur, local and tribal government partners and state officials often request on-the-ground assistance from our WCC.

We currently have two WCC crews deployed to Tonasket and three to Okanogan in Okanogan County. Another crew is serving in the town of Cusick in Pend Oreille County.

A seventh WCC crew is being deployed to the Okanogan County Fairgrounds in Okanogan to set up and manage a camp base for our response partners at the state Department of Natural Resources.

  

WCC members getting sandbags ready in Tonasket.

On Monday afternoon, water levels remained lower than the flooding levels experienced on Friday and Saturday.

However, the National Weather Service is predicting a second flood crest later this week that could be higher than the first as hot weather drives more snowmelt to different river systems in Eastern Washington – especially the Okanogan, Similkameen, Kettle, and Pend Oreille rivers.

The WCC provides hands-on experience, field skills, and training opportunities to young adults between 18 and 25 and military veterans. Our 300 members and 53 field supervisors across the state restore critical habitat, build trails, and protect the state’s natural, historic and environmental resources. They also respond to out-of-state and local disasters.

WCC disaster response program

 

Our WCC crews have responded to local floods, wildfires, oil spills and landslides and have also been deployed to provide disaster relief and recovery assistance for communities affected by floods, hurricanes and tornadoes around the nation. Four WCC crews are designated disaster response crews but any crew has the potential to be deployed.


Sandbags readied in Tonasket.

• Members and staff are trained to safely and effectively:
• Clean up homes, roads and structures
• Install emergency repairs such as roof tarps
• Manage volunteers and donations
• Remove hazard trees and debris
• Set up and operate emergency shelters

 Learn more about WCC

 

Ecology's Washington Conservation Corps, an AmeriCorps program, consists of three subprograms: the original WCC, Veteran Conservation Corps and Puget SoundCorps. We are currently recruiting for three-month AmeriCorps members positions. Recruitment for the 2018-19 year will begin in July! See photos of the types of projects WCC members support during their service in our WCC Projects Flickr set and WCC Featured Projects Story Map. Learn more and apply online today.

 

Boots on the Ground: WCC responds to Hurricane Harvey

By Alex Wunder and Paris Jackson, WCC AmeriCorps Disaster Response Team public information officers and edited by Laura Schlabach, WCC outreach coordinator.

Below is a first-hand account from two of our Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) AmeriCorps members, currently serving a 30-day deployment to Texas to assist communities after Hurricane Harvey hit in late August. They are serving alongside numerous other programs including Texas Conservation Corps at American YouthWorks, Conservation Corps Minnesota and Iowa, AmeriCorps' Corporation for National and Community Service and American Red Cross.

Although Hurricane Harvey was named a tropical storm Aug. 17, the category 4 hurricane eventually made landfall near Rockport, Texas, late on Aug. 25. The federal government declared a national disaster and WCC AmeriCorps members were already mobilizing to assist communities in southeast Texas wracked by the largest storm on record in the continental United States.

 

Arriving safely in Austin Aug. 29

 

On Aug. 26, 24 WCC staff and AmeriCorps members loaded into four trucks and headed for the Lone Star State, awaiting more specific directions on assignments. After two different changes to our final destination, we arrived in Austin on Aug. 29 ready to implement our Incident Command System or ICS. ICS is a standardized approach for coordinating a large-scale response to an emergency or disaster. The system provides a structure that allows multiple responding teams and agencies to function effectively together. It was first used by the U.S. Forest Service as a way to organize the response to wildfires.




WCC AmeriCorps members finally reach Austin Aug. 29. Photo by Rob Crawford.

Step one: Assign roles and responsibilities

After dividing up tasks and roles for the response, we started collaborating with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to organize and find donations and volunteers. WCC supervisor Kelly Gilchrist was picked to lead the donations task force and began setting up systems and procedures for his team. Having standard operating procedures helps integrate new task force members quickly and efficiently.

WCC supervisor Aurelio Elliott is leading the volunteer task force. He and his team started researching and selected volunteer reception centers, enabling them to find and activate volunteers in different areas of Texas.

Our members not involved in the volunteer or donations task force are serving directly in or with the incident command or operations staff preparing for up to 200 members from various disaster response team programs across the country to arrive throughout the next two weeks. They are making progress putting housing, food and training in place to create a smooth arrival for incoming service members. Arranging upcoming operating bases in Houston and Corpus Christi will soon be a priority so crews can get started on providing direct assistance to affected populations.



WCC AmeriCorps members serving in Austin settle into to their incident command post at local hotel. Photo by Rob Crawford.

Step Two: Find a home base

 

 
Amidst all this planning we have been trying to locate a permanent place to house our incident command post and task forces. During the first two days, we operated out of a meeting room in the basement of a local hotel. Not long after, WCC AmeriCorps member Hunter Bowen located an office space that we could utilize with a mortgage company for whom previously worked. Once we arrived, we quickly hung maps and infographics on the walls to assist with research and project flow.

We spent about two days in the new space before FEMA asked us to move to their joint field office. We packed up and arrived at an empty golf supply warehouse that had been refilled with hundreds of people all working to help communities in Texas. We nicknamed our new space the “Ice Box” because it was a big air conditioned room, resulting in everyone wearing jackets despite being 90-plus degrees outside.

Once we had established a presence there, our incident commander Luke Wigle determined the original office that Hunter had found for us was the most effective incident command post location for us in the end, a little farther away from the hustle and bustle of FEMA's joint field office. We packed up and finally set up a stable incident command post that we can operate out of for the foreseeable future. We are still keeping things flexible and easily mobile in the event that we have to transition our command post once more.
 


Elizabeth Weimholt (left) and Jessie Cadigan (right) created a website, www.volunteertx.org, to promote

volunteer and donation opportunities in Texas

What do all these moving parts mean for the team's logistics chief?

I spoke with WCC AmeriCorps member Stephen Fuller, serving as logistics chief, about the challenges presented by moving 24 people and their command post four times in four days. The difficulty is in figuring out organized, efficient ways to move 24 people while still maintaining full task force operations from a technology standpoint. Some of the things I have to constantly keep in mind include internet quality and ability to connect, amount of electrical outlets and a need for power strips to power computers, and even quiet spaces being available to take conference calls," Stephen said.

 

Ready to meet current and future challenges

Disaster response is one of the most fluid and fast-paced aspects of the WCC. Change is constant, which requires everyone involved to be flexible and ready for whatever situations arise. Fortunately, our team is one of the best and everyone has been handling the challenges and curveballs well. The multiple incident command post locations and setting up for future teams has been a great challenge that all of us are rising to meet head on.





Elizabeth Weimholt created recycling program for WCC disaster response team serving in Texas. WCC AmeriCorps member Keith Kaneshiro pictured on the right.

 

Join the WCC

 

Do you want to help the environment, meet great people and make a difference in your community? WCC is now recruiting for the 2017-18 AmeriCorps year! Learn more and apply online today to become a WCC member.

 

See photos of the types of projects WCC members support during their service in our WCC projects Flickr set and WCC featured projects story map.

 

 

 


    
         
 

 

 

 

 

WCC members serve local communities through AmeriCorps program

A series of storms caused many Eastern Washington streams and rivers to flood last month. On March 17, Gov. Jay Inslee issued an emergency proclamation for all 20 counties east of the Cascades to free up state resources in case wet weather and flooding risks continue.

When disasters occur, local and tribal government partners and state officials often request on-the-ground assistance from Ecology’s Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) AmeriCorps members and crew supervisors.

The WCC provides hands-on experience, field skills, and training opportunities to young adults between 18 and 25 and military veterans. Our 300 members and 55 field supervisors across the state restore critical habitat, build trails, and protect the state’s natural, historic and environmental resources.

During disasters, however, WCC members and supervisors respond to assist communities in Washington and beyond.

2017 flood response in Sprague and Yakima

March 18, WCC crews help keep rising flood waters from Sprague.

City officials and the state Military Department requested help battling flood waters in the Lincoln County town of Sprague on March 17, and WCC was able to respond the next day. WCC members based in Spokane, Walla Walla, Wenatchee, Yakima and Ellensburg filled and placed about 3,500 sandbags to protect Sprague homes and businesses. Members also reinforced and fixed sandbags to stay ahead of rising water levels.

The crews received a warm welcome. “It was refreshing to see the community come together and help our crews and each other,” said WCC supervisor Matt Cone, who was deeply moved by the experience. “The people volunteered their time, labor, supplies and food so that everyone was taken care of. Even in a stressful situation, this community showed a lot of heart.”

WCC crew in removing sandbags in Yakima

On March 20 and 21, another WCC crew responded to a similar request from the city of Yakima. Members took a day off from their regular duties with the North Yakima Conservation District to help the city clean up after widespread flooding. The crew removed nearly 4,000 sandbags from a previously flooded interchange.

WCC disaster response program

Our WCC crews have responded to local floods, wildfires, oil spills and landslides and have also been deployed to provide disaster relief and recovery assistance for floods, hurricanes and tornadoes around the nation. Four WCC crews are designated disaster response crews but any crew has the potential to be deployed.

Members and staff are trained to safely and effectively:

• Clean up homes, roads and structures
• Install emergency repairs such as roof tarps
• Manage volunteers and donations
• Remove trees and debris
• Set up and operate emergency shelters

WCC AmeriCorps funding in jeopardy

The WCC was created in 1983 and became an AmeriCorps program in 1994. The federal Corporation for National and Community Service administers AmeriCorps. The proposed federal blueprint budget would eliminate funding the agency’s funding. For the 2017-18 federal budget year (Oct. 1, 2017, through Sept. 30, 2018), AmeriCorps provided Ecology’s WCC program:

• $1.8 million in grant funding – about 20 percent of WCC’s budget.
• Authority and funding to support Ecology WCC AmeriCorps federal disaster and response and recovery efforts.
• A $5,775 education award to each WCC member who completes a year of services. They can use the AmeriCorps award to pay for future college expenses or toward existing student loans. This year the awards, paid directly to post-secondary institutions, will provide more than $2 million in tuition income to trade schools, college and universities attended by WCC alumni.

Since it is still early in the federal budget-making process, it is unknown what the full effects could be on Ecology’s WCC AmeriCorps program in the future.

Learn more about WCC

Ecology's Washington Conservation Corps, an AmeriCorps program, consists of three subprograms: the original WCC, Veteran Conservation Corps and Puget SoundCorps. Recruitment for the 2017-2018 year will begin in July!

See photos of the types of projects WCC members support during their service in our WCC Projects Flickr set and WCC Featured Projects Story Map. To become a member of WCC, learn more and apply online today.

New dangerous waste training video makes labels stick

By Mariann Cook Andrews and Erin Jeffries, Outreach and Education, Hazardous Waste & Toxics Reduction Program

How do you know what’s in a box of cereal? You look at the label. How do you know what’s in a container of dangerous waste? You look at the labels. What happens when the labels aren’t there? People can get hurt.

Imagine responders arriving at the scene of a fire. They see spilled drums of waste and chemicals, but there aren’t any labels to tell them whether they are ignitable. The fire approaches the spills – are the responders in danger of explosion? In this situation, the absence of labels could shift a manageable incident to a major disaster.

Missing or incorrect labels is the most common violation found during dangerous waste compliance inspections.

Our new, four-minute video helps facilities with dangerous waste understand how to label it properly:


A 2013 survey showed that Washington businesses place a high value on keeping workers safe. Safe handling of dangerous waste includes proper labeling, management, and disposal.

Labeling problems are easy to avoid. Three items must be on every container of dangerous waste:

• The words “Dangerous Waste” or “Hazardous Waste”
• Accumulation start date (when the first drop of waste goes into the container)
• Risk label for each risk the waste poses (flammable, explosive, etc.)

Learn more about dangerous waste labeling

1. Visit our Label Dangerous Waste web page
2. Download and print your own labels
3. Read the Focus Sheet: Risk Labels Required for Dangerous Waste Containers

Las Etiquetas (Labels in Spanish)

Etiquetas para las materiales peligrosas y la seguridad personal

Also learn how to keep containers closed in the video Dangerous Waste Containers: An Open and Shut Case.

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We do more than just respond to spills

By communications staff with narrative by Carl Andersen, Spills Program, Department of Ecology, Lacey


As 2013 came to a close, many people were making resolutions and setting new goals. Carl Andersen, a lead spill responder in Bellingham, was also reflecting on the past and how it’s shaped his passion/perspective toward his job. Below he shares his touching account of an incident that happened nearly 10 years ago:

Carl Andersen, responding to a spill.

I was paged around 2:30 a.m. to respond to a fiery semi-truck/pickup truck incident that destroyed both vehicles. The collision occurred over a large area of I-90 and ended just east of Issaquah in the westbound lanes.

When I arrived on scene all three westbound lanes were closed and traffic was getting by on the far right shoulder. The collision was still generating heat and smoke, and fire-fighting foam covered the roadway, making it appear as if it’d snowed. 

I was told the semi-truck had lost control and pinned the pickup truck up against the left wall. For several hundred feet they travelled west – the pickup stuck between the semi and its’ trailer, and the concrete wall of the bridge. With all the metal scraping against the concrete and sparks flying a fire was ignited as both trucks came to a stop. 

Two occupants in the pickup were able to get out and jumped off the bridge. Not realizing in the dark how high up they were, one ended up with multiple fractures from falling 25 feet. The truck driver walked away unhurt. 

I checked in with the Washington State Patrol (WSP) Incident Commander who was concerned with the diesel and foam/water runoff into the nearby creek. He was also unsure of what was in the trailer, which had completely burned.

The fire burned so hot that the top of the semi-truck diesel-saddle tanks melted, exposing the diesel still inside. My job was to get the remaining diesel in the tanks pumped off prior to the morning commute. I also needed to assess the creek for fuel and any damage due to the fire-fighting runoff that went directly off the bridge to the creek. 

WSP gave me the green light and I started working with the trucking company to get a contractor mobilized to take care of the remaining diesel fuel. Once the contractor was en route I began investigating the creek.

I noted some fire-fighting foam, but with my flashlight only detected a sheen on the water. I did not see any recoverable product. It was still dark so with safety in mind, I decided to wait until daylight to do a further assessment. Meanwhile, WSP accident investigators were documenting the scene and continuing their work on the bridge above me.

That’s when it happened.

Troopers uncovered a small car trapped beneath the burnt shell of the semi trailer. Next they discovered a charred body and a sad gloom fell over the scene. 

Suddenly all activities came to a crawl as the scene grew to a large-scale fatality investigation. As responders carefully removed the semi trailer to get to the hidden vehicle, a white sheet was placed over the deceased so passing vehicles could not see the young man’s remains.

It was just starting to get light out and the scene was now covered with crime-scene tape and photo ID location markers. A flurry of WSP investigators were surveying the accident, documenting every piece of metal, glass, and skid mark.

As I walked to my truck I passed three troopers talking with a man in plain street clothes. I was just a few feet from the man when he fell to his knees crying, his head in his hands, “Oh dear God no. Oh dear God NO, it can’t be!” 

Brief eye contact with the female trooper told me the man had just been informed that his son died, trapped in the vehicle under the semi’s trailer. 

I walked by the car with the young man still inside as they gingerly removed the metal pieces around him. I prayed for his spirit to move quickly away from the accident to a better more peaceful place. I prayed that he was knocked unconscious or killed instantly from the accident and was not burned alive or trapped, suffering through those moments of helplessness. I also prayed for his family and hoped that they would make it through this horrible day and difficult time ahead.
 
I tried, unsuccessfully, to keep my mind from thinking about how horrific it would have been to be conscious and trapped in that vehicle, not being able to escape and worse yet, to be burned to death.
 
I finished assessing the creek which did not appear to have been impacted beyond some fire-fighting foam. I took a quiet moment while standing there next to the creek listening to the peaceful, calming and soothing gurgling sounds which drowned out the noise of the work being done above me.

As I stood there it struck me how totally different and distant a world it was from the horrific scene just above me. Two totally different worlds so far apart yet so close to each other. The creek flowed from the shadows of the bridge out into the bright daylight on its journey west and I hoped the young man’s spirit would follow a similar peaceful path.
 
I will never forget that day. Almost a decade later, I still can very clearly bring up the image of the young man’s body in the burnt shell of the smashed car – I wish I couldn’t.
 
We do more than just respond to spills.

We row out and save hypothermic fishermen off their partially submerged fishing vessels. We put our warm response coats around cold, elderly victims sitting on the side of the roadway, shaken from collisions. We comfort owners that have watched their boat burn and sink, taking to the bottom a lifetime of joyous memories of family adventures and children raised. We see the bodies of those that have passed in a tragic highway accident covered from view with a white sheet. 

Responding to spills, protecting the environment, that’s our job, that’s what we do. It’s a tall order being a responder and every now and again we are touched by our experiences and changed forever.

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Air Time: Wildfires heat up, bring toxic smoke

By Seth Preston, Communications Manager, Toxics Cleanup Program

Wildfires are burning already in several locations in Washington, just months after the nation watched as fires consumed vast tracts of central and eastern Washington, overwhelming local communities with hazardous, choking smoke.It was a stark, brutal lesson about the destructive power of wildfires. The air quality in some central Washington communities was so unhealthy for so long that many residents were compelled to evacuate their homes just so they could find clean air to breathe.

The photo on the right from the Daily Record in Ellensburg gives just a snapshot of what happened last summer and fall.

The current fires are a potential reminder of that – and a possible harbinger of the wildfire season ahead, which began this year in Washington on April 15, according to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

This week (May 5-11) is Wildfire Awareness Week. You can learn more wildfire awareness and activities, resources and learning opportunities in local communities by checking out this DNR news release.

All wildfires have the potential to unleash large amounts of unhealthy smoke. Here are wildfire-related questions and answers that the Washington Department of Health, Ecology and other state and federal agencies developed during last year’s devastating wildfires.

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Be safe: NOAA says uptick in coastal marine debris can include hazardous items

By Curt Hart, communications manager, Shorelands and Environmental Assistance Program

As hundreds of people head out to Washington’s coastal shores to dig razor clams, bird watch and just take pleasure being on the beach, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is sharing important information in a new blog entitled “Smart Handling of Marine Debris.”

NOAA’s blog contains an important precautionary note about how beachgoers who pick up debris on our coast can stay safe.

It’s also important to report marine debris suspected to be from the March 11, 2011, Japan tsunami to NOAA at DisasterDebris@noaa.gov.

Precaution for volunteer cleanup efforts

This is really important because Washington relies heavily on the efforts of selfless, dedicated volunteers and citizen actions to help keep our beaches clean.

People are encouraged to do their part in cleaning up the increase in marine debris our coastal beaches are seeing. However, it’s important to look for specific hazard symbols and labels when you encounter debris to stay safe.

Ecology reports increased coastal field responses

Since Jan. 1, 2013, Ecology has received 8 reports of potentially hazardous items washing up on our coastal beaches, including gas cylinders, drums and fuel containers.

In an average year, Ecology typically handles 6 to 10 such reports on coastal beaches.

The bottom line is if you encounter something on the beach and you’re not sure what it is, don’t move it or touch it – especially if you see any indication an item might be toxic, corrosive or flammable, contain an explosive, biohazard or pose any other threat.

Let the professionals handle it instead.

Report potentially hazardous debris items

Call the state’s toll-free marine debris reporting hotline at 1-855-WACOAST (1-855-922-6278). Select “1” to speak to someone to report oil or hazardous debris.

People who call 1-855-WACOAST also can:

• Report large floating debris items that might pose a boating or navigation hazard by pressing "2."
• Leave a message about any other debris-related issues by pressing "3."

NOAA is the lead agency for predicting how marine debris is likely moving in the ocean, including debris from the tragic March 11, 2011 tsunami that struck Japan.

They are the best source for Japan tsunami marine debris information.

For more information about marine debris in Washington, including potential Japan tsunami debris, visit the state’s Tsunami / Marine Debris website.

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Boots on the Ground: Unexpected service in New York

First person accounts by WCC responders
compiled by Bridget Mason and Janna Sargent, Ecology Washington Conservation Corps

WCC Supervisors provide updates via smart phones and Skype™


A gymnasium serves as a makeshift shelter for displaced residents at Lehman College inBronx, NY


Nor'easter dumps snow andadds new challenges for responders


AmeriCorps members serve food and coffee to evacuees.

Eight Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) crews recently drove across country to the East Coast to respond to Hurricane Sandy.

A total of 40 AmeriCorps members and eight supervisors are currently in New York where they are assisting with shelter operations in the New York City Boroughs of Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. In the past few weeks, we have seen them featured in newspapers and interviewed on the radio.

WCC often on the front lines

In recent years, the WCC has responded to disasters across the county, including tornadoes, floods, wildfires, as well as other hurricanes. Often, it is difficult to receive regular updates from our responders due to lack of power, downed cell towers, and the hectic nature of disaster response.

Smart phones keep us linked

This is the first incident where the majority of our responders have smart phones, enabling more frequent updates – requiring ample patience on their part while drafting multi-paragraph summaries on a 3-inch screen.

We recently received the following updates from several of our responders requesting anonymity and to receive no special recognition, adding, “All of the responders here are working very hard.”

Daily grind of shelter operations

Up to 600 displaced New Yorkers are currently sheltered at Queens College. There are 41 AmeriCorps volunteers supporting them including the WCC, Montana Conservation Corps, and Minnesota Conservation Corps. These volunteers are responsible for operating the family and pet shelters. This means rather than the physical cleanup assignments that our members were expecting when leaving Washington, they are working directly with displaced residents of New York. Their daily tasks include:

• Cleaning at the shelter
• Serving meals
• Helping children get to school
• Clothing people
• Finding answers, occasionally finding translators
• Sharing stories with shelter residents
• Loading and unloading trucks and sorting donations
• Helping elderly residents with day-to-day needs
• Constructing cots, cribs, and assembling toys
• Entertaining children
• Defusing volatile situations

Election Day at a shelter

To add to the commotion, Election Day presented its own challenges. The day was fast approaching and evacuees did not know how or where to vote.

AmeriCorps volunteers took on the challenge of researching and publicizing the revised voting policy for evacuees and helping them find the nearest polling site. After some effort, we managed to connect a laptop to a monitor and stream live election results while the entire family shelter gathered to watch the results. It was an electric day and night.

The American right of voting, that secures all other rights, was salvaged that day in the shelter.

Other challenges

Another opportunity for creative problem-solving presented itself when a “nor’easter” hit New York on Nov. 7. A refrigerator that had been storing food for 150 people suddenly ceased working, resulting in spoiled food.

Volunteers used their phones to reach out for help from local churches, non-profits, and businesses. Three hours later, a call came from PC Richards and Sons letting us know that, despite the blizzard, they were bringing us a brand new 21 cubic foot refrigerator

Staying positive

WCC members and supervisors are staying positive and, often times, fighting just to stay awake, despite the work being mentally and emotionally challenging. The night shift has been especially taxing since this means our few sleeping hours happen when all other shelter residents are awake. Many of us await the call requesting assistance with debris cleanup.

Running chainsaws, mucking out houses, and clearing debris sounds easy at this point!

Washington proud

In the meantime, our members are doing an excellent job representing the Washington Conservation Corps and AmeriCorps. The logo on their uniforms has become a powerful symbol – both as an all-access pass to get through multiple levels of security and a sign of their responsibility.

A popular saying is that the AmeriCorps ‘A’ stands for answers. When evacuees see the A on our shirts, it means they can ask for help and they will be heard.

Read more about them!

On Nov. 9, the New York Times wrote a story about what AmeriCorps, including the WCC, are doing in response to Sandy.

On October 31, the Department of Ecology issued a News Release as WCC crews deployed from Ellensburg, Washington.

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Ecology’s Washington Conservation Corps head east

by Joye Redfield-Wilder, communication manager, Central Regional Office

Photo of a WCC crew from 2011

Ecology’s Washington Conservation Corps sent 48 crewmembers to the East Coast to assist communities devastated by Hurricane Sandy. They left on Halloween from Ellensburg and will arrive Saturday, Nov. 3, for a 30-day stint helping neighborhoods in New York and elsewhere on the Eastern Seaboard to clean up debris, help at community shelters, distribute food, clothes and other supplies and assess damages to homes and other structures.

Gov. Chris Gregoire said: "Washingtonians stand with our friends and family on the East Coast as they begin to clean up and rebuild from the devastation left by Hurricane Sandy. The young women and men in our WCC AmeriCorps program have been deployed to disaster responses across the country and always put service above self. They will arrive in New York on Saturday and with their training and skills will hit the ground running. I thank them for stepping up to the relief effort."

Their departure is profiled in the Ellensburg Record.

Read about another WCC crew from Hadlock, in the Peninsula Daily News.

More about the WCC

Learn more about the Washington Conservation Corps (WCC).
Follow the WCC on Facebook.

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Boots on the Ground: Washington Conservation Corps provides support for wildland firefighting efforts in Kittitas County

By Bridget Mason, WCC Coordinator, Washington Conservation Corps

Wildfire approaching windmills in Ellensburg.


WCC crew move fuel cans for use by firefighting equipment.
Photos by Ernie Farmer

Beginning at 6 a.m. on August 13, the Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) deployed eight AmeriCorps members and two WCC Crew Supervisors to assist with efforts to contain the Taylor Bridge wildfire near Cle Elum, Washington.

The team has members from Bellevue, Ellensburg, Seattle, Wenatchee and Yakima. Upon their arrival, the crew worked to establish a base camp by setting up yurts, telephone lines, and supply trailers. After completing initial setup, the team began coordinating donations, serving meals, and coordinating equipment for the fire line.

WCC Supervisor, Ernie Farmer, has been impressed with the outpouring of community support explaining, “Over ten tons of donations have poured in from around the state and this same support is being demonstrated at the shelters and animal care facilities in the area.”

The team plans to stay as long as they are needed. Current estimates report the fire as 25 percent contained. The fire has burned 20,000 acres and destroyed over 60 homes.
This website has the latest report on the firefighting effort.

The WCC has 70 members and staff certified to fight wildfires that are available for this response, if needed. This certification is just one of several offered in the WCC program. We provide crews at a moment’s notice for disasters throughout Washington and the U.S., providing first-hand assistance to citizens in Washington and across the nation during floods, fires, hurricanes and other natural disasters.

Learn more about the Washington Conservation Corps.

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Air Time: Summer weather sparks wildfire season

By Seth Preston, Communications Manager, Air Quality Program

Rising summertime temperatures and lightning storms mean Washington’s wildfire season is officially under way.

This news release from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) details the current conditions and provides a number of useful links to find more information on wildfires.

The photo (at right) of the Navarre Fire in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest comes from InciWeb, which tracks wildfires throughout the United States.

From an air quality standpoint, wildfires produce plenty of harmful smoke. The biggest threat comes from the fine particles in smoke. These tiny particles can get into your eyes and lungs, where they can cause health problems such as burning eyes, runny nose and illness such as bronchitis. Fine particles also can aggravate heart and lung diseases, and even lead to death.

Here are some steps you can take to protect your health from wildfire smoke:

• When there are wildfires in an area or region, the severity of the smoke impacts depends on weather patterns. If the air isn’t moving, the concentration of fine particles increases in the air.
• Smoke from a fire can travel rapidly, affecting air quality hundreds of miles downwind.
• Smoke from wildfires can impact the air you breathe and harm your health, especially if you have existing health conditions.
• The Washington State Department of Health recommends that people who are sensitive to air pollution limit the time that they spend outdoors when smoke is in the air.
• Children also are more susceptible to smoke because:
• Their respiratory systems are still developing.
• They breathe more air (and air pollution) per pound of body weight than adults.
• They’re more likely to be active outdoors.
• When smoke levels are high enough, even healthy people may be affected. To protect yourself, it’s important to limit your exposure to smoke – especially if you are susceptible.

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Boots on the Ground: House of Representatives lauds WCC efforts

by Bridget Mason, Washington Conservation Corps

We have an update to our Feb. 15th Boots on the Ground story!

On Feb. 23, 2012, the Washington State House of Representatives adopted a resolution honoring the 12 WCC members who, “served tirelessly to assist the tornado victims of Missouri and commend their display of leadership in tornado relief efforts...the House of Representatives express its thanks and appreciation to the Missouri State Legislature.”

On behalf of Ecology, we’d like to graciously thank all of them for their state and national service.

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