0400L-FRIDAY OUTLOOK & INFO FROM GARFIELD COUNTY EMERGENCY MGMT-5/1/2020

1- Mostly clear skies warm and windy today and over the weekend. There is a slight chance for rain Saturday as another front pushes in but timing may be an issue. We’ll watch and advise. Otherwise, we will be hot and humid over the weekend.

2- FIRE WEATHER becomes somewhat of a concern as we warm up and humidity lowers and winds increase. If fires do occur, it would most likely be from mid-afternoon into the evening hours today and tomorrow. Fire conditions are a lot higher in Western and southwestern Oklahoma over the next few days so no matter where you are, if you see smoke or fire, CALL 911.

3- Here is your forecast from the NWS/NORMAN;

Friday-Mostly sunny with a high near 90. South wind 16 to 20 mph with gusts to 28 mph.Friday Night-Mostly clear with a low around 62. South southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.

DIRECTORS COMMENT

Since the COVID19 virus situation started, I had been working with State Emergency Management and other organizations, along with all of our Northwest Emergency Managers, in attaining PPE for all of our Law and Fire responders. It was very slow at first but increased over time. This PPE I was getting was what we needed to a point but has now ended after picking up a small amount yesterday. State officials wanted lists from us on how much PPE we would need to cover us for roughly a month. It took several hours to figure that out and then that list was emailed in. As stated above, only a small amount was delivered. So much for the MONTH THING. Hopefully the NATIONAL STOCKPILE will actually be replenished after this event so we don’t have shortages again.

We are back to departments getting their own PPE now so I encourage all services to inventory and order what is needed and keep some extra supplies in stock. I do appreciate the state helping us out during this time but one big lesson to learn from this is that we need to be better prepared at the LOCAL level. Besides all of the other disasters that can occur, we will definitely add medical supplies to our list of PPE to have on hand when this happens again, and it will.

Have a good day!

Mike