Polk County Wisconsin

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Emergency Management

Home | Disasters | Special Needs
Shelter Basics and Locations | Shelter Info and Supply List

What is Emergency Management?
Emergency Management has grown out of the "old" Civil Defense days of the 1950's. Changes to federal and state laws have brought new concepts and responsibilities to the office including consideration and

Kathy Poirier, Director
1005 West Main, Ste 900
Balsam Lake, WI 54810
Phone Number: 715-485-9280
Fax Number: 715-485-8315
kathyp@co.polk.wi.us

POLK COUNTY
EMERGENCY MESSAGE E-LERT:

In an emergency, important information will be posted here. There are no Emergency Messages at this time.

Be Informed about Natural Disasters

Polk County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC):

Dan Gullickson, Chair
Bonnie Leonard, Vice-Chair
Robert Blake
Jay Shrader
Rob Rorvick
Greg Marsten
Kathy Glunz
Carol Buck
Kathy Poirier

LEPC Agenda / Meeting Dates

Disasters Can Happen Anytime, Anywhere... Disaster Preparedness Begins with You!!!
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planning for all hazards.

In the late 1980’s the implementation of the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act created a repository for documenting the storage of hazardous materials in the community. In conjunction with these laws the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) was formed to help identify priorities and provide oversight to local emergency planning. Most recently Homeland Security issues have become an additional focus for planning activities and resource development.

Disaster Polk County Emergency Management utilizes planning, training and coordination to continually develop mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery capabilities of the County’s cities, towns, tribes and villages. These four phases of emergency management are intended to identify and coordinate available resources to deal with emergencies effectively, thereby saving lives, avoiding injury and minimizing economic loss.

MITIGATION: Mitigation activities are those, which actually eliminate or reduce the chance of occurrence or the effects of a disaster.

RESPONSE: Response means the coordinated actions taken during or immediately following a natural or technological disaster, when essential utilities and supply sources are disrupted, major damage has occurred to public and private property, and injuries or deaths may have been inflicted. All emergencies must be managed during the response phase by using an Incident Command structure that efficiently procures and employs all the resources needed to effectively manage the situation. Each emergency is different and requires a comprehensive assessment of resources available and the flexibility to mobilize them quickly.

PREPAREDNESS: Preparedness means planning for emergency operations, identifying available resources, which can be tapped during a disaster, ensuring training, and practicing plans through exercises.

RECOVERY: Recovery means the restoration of all systems to normal or near-normal condition. Long-term recovery from a disaster may go on for years until the entire disaster area is completely redeveloped, either as it was in the past or for an entirely new purpose which is less vulnerable to a disaster.

What is Sheltering-in-Place?
"Shelter-in-place" means to take immediate shelter where you are—at home, work, school or in between—usually for just a few hours. Local authorities may instruct you to "shelter-in-place" if biological, chemical or radiological contaminants are released into the environment or if there is a large scale infectious disease outbreak. Click here for more information on Sheltering in Place.

What is Evacuation?
During an emergency or disaster, individuals may be asked to temporarily leave their home or business during a natural or man-made disaster that possesses the potential to cause harm or even death to a given geographical population. Evacuations are usually temporarily, lasting sometimes a few hours to a few days.

Where can I get information about disasters and emergencies in Polk County?
During an emergency or disaster, individuals will be updated on the situation of the incident including any instructions that individuals should take, such as to shelter-in-place or evacuate, through a variety of means.

Television: Although, television is a great resource for receiving information, Polk County relies heavily on the Twin Cities market hence information may not be as readily available as you'd like for Polk County area.
KARE - Channel 11 WCCO - Channel 4	KSTP - Channel 5 KSMP - Channel 9

Newspaper: Polk County has no daily newspaper so it will be difficult to receive up-to-date information from our newspapers. The Twin Cities area does have daily newspapers and will likely provide daily information on the incident:
Star Tribute, Minneapolis - Pioneer Press, St. Paul

Radio: Radio will likely be the best source of receiving information on a local incident. The following are the local radio stations for Polk County.
WXCE 1260AM - WLMX 104.9FM

Other: Beyond our media outlets, Polk County, pending the complexity and severity of the incident, will use other ways to communicate with the community including listed information hotlines, door to door communication by emergency responders, press conferences, and websites.