Tooele County Emergency Management

09/30/2026

Thank you for participating in National Preparedness month with us. We hope we have helped you understand the importance of becoming better prepared and also helped you see that we need to help each other. None of us can do all of it alone, but together we can do so much more.

Be sure to visit www.tcem.org for information. Sign up for notifications. Also go to the Tooele ready link and you will find so many other resources. Share with your friends and family about our social media sites because we will most likey share information quickly on social media than the website. And if you have signed up for notifications you will get the notifications even if you are not in the area. This is one of the advantages of signing up for the notifications.

https://beready.utah.gov/ also has some excellent resources, lists, and documents to help you prepare.

And as always https://www.ready.gov/ also has many types of resources to learn from.

You can also take some online training if you would like. These are some of the suggestions you may be interested in.

Active Shooter Prevention: You Can Make a Difference
IS-904
Responding to an Active Shooter: You Can Make a Difference
IS-905
Active Shooter: What You Can Do
IS-907.a
Community Preparedness: Implementing Simple Activities for Everyone
IS-909
Here is the link to access those courses
https://training.fema.gov/programs/independent-study/

There is a lot to think about and we don't want you to become overwhelmed, but we know you can do one little thing at a time, and eventually your efforsts grow into your big preparedness plan and kits and mitigation. You will be glad you did.
Thank you for making Tooele County more resilient by preparing!!

TOOELE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT View Upcoming EventsWildfire Information What is TCEM? LEARN MORE SIGN UP TO BE NOTIFIED We proudly work with Alertsense PARTNER AGENCIES CLICK…

09/30/2026

Should you ever have to evacuate you need to know and understand the levels of Evacuation. It is important to understand what you should do according to what level and know that the levels will change as the risk increases. It is important to prepare NOW so if you ever have to evacuate you are READY!

Here is a great resource that will help you learn and understand more about the things you need to know and do for evacuation.
https://wfca.com/wildfire-articles/wildfire-evacation-guide/

09/29/2026

We have mentioned a couple of centers that Tooele County Emergency Management would be involved in after a disaster. Since we are talking about preparedness and we have recently had exercises to prepare ourselves, our partners, our volunteers, and our leaders, it it only fitting we help prepare you the communityto know what they are and when they are stood up and why you would want to know about them.

The first one is a Multi-Agency Resource Center (MARC). Should there be a major disaster like a fire or a major flood that affects multiple neighborhoods this center would be set up to assist the residents in connecting with resources to work toward recovery and also there are partners there that may offere different types of assistance. This type of center would be available for people affected and for the community to learn about resources and next steps for the community.

The next one is a Victim Assistance Center (VAC). It is much like a MARC, but this one is stood up if there are major causualties or deaths that happened. This one has some different partners and is mainly for those that were immediately affected and their families, then later the community may come to see what types of resources are available. These are the areas and types of service that would be at a Victim Assistance Center. They are also called a Family Assistance Center.
• Reception/data gathering
• Security
• Media management
• Basic needs, food, comfort
• Timely, vetted information and briefings
• Technology - access to TV, phone chargers, computers
• Support services
– Childcare
– Spiritual care
– Transportation
– Financial assistance
– Document replacement
– Mental health
– Investigative services
– Support for people with disabilities/access and functional needs

Much of the same type of resources are the same for a MARC but for a VAC often the police and possible the FBI may become involved especially if it is becuase of a violent event.

The next one is called a Point of Distribution (POD). This too is part of the recovery process. In some disasters food and water and other supplies may be needed to people who were effected. Having a Point of Distribution spot in the community can allow more people to get some supplies easier than having to go do different spots throughout the area. This Point of Distribution spot would be set up later when supplies and resources can actually be delivered from outside areas that weren't affected. This may not happen for many weeks after a disaster that is why becoming prepared for your own home and family is so important.

All of these centers and some other one are based on different criteria to set them up. We work with partners and leaders to determine when they will be operational and for how long.

We hope that we don't have the size of disaster that would warrant any of these types of centers, but we have been practicing so we can support our Tooele County Communities should one ever need to happen.

Below are some pictures from our MARC Exercise we held in June and one from an Exercise our Tooele County Responds group attended to learn how to support Tooele County Emergency Management.

09/28/2026

Next month is National Fire Prevention Month. Take the time this week and next month to learn how your family may escape from your home. Also If you had to evacuate where would you go? What would you do? What about your pets? Is your car ready? These are questions to think about. There are lots of resources out there to help you prepare.

https://www.nifc.gov/fire-information/fire-prevention-education-mitigation

https://sparky.org/

https://www.ready.gov/home-fires

https://utah-fire-info-utahdnr.hub.arcgis.com/

09/27/2026

Did you know you could volunteer before a disaster? Being part of the disaster response is one of the best ways to help your community. In Tooele County we have a volunteer organization called Tooele County Responds and they have been instrumental in training people for Community Emergency Response team, helping with points of distribution, and they were very engaged in the two exercises Tooele County just had doing the Multi Agency Resource Center and the Victim Assistance Center.
They meet monthly at the Emergency Operations Center at 7:00 on the 3rd Thursday or you can join via Google Meet if you can't come in person. This is an excellent way to learn new skills and help response toward recovery happen more efficiently because there are people who have already been vetted and trained.

You can visit www.tooeleresponds.org to learn more.

There are also other opportunities to volunteer with our partners that we partner with during disasters.

You can visit www.utahvoad.org for more information on those organizations and how to volunteer.

Tooele County Responds In conjunction with Tooele County Emergency Management, Tooele County Responds is the volunteer organization tasked to help train, and utilize volunteers for needed essential roles before, during and after a disaster. Tooele County Responds helps to manage the volunteers and d...

09/25/2026

Consider collecting the following types of important documents to store in a safe place:

* Originals and copies of your identification such as a driver’s license, passport, Social Security card, and birth certificate. These are helpful if you must prove your identity. It is best to have originals, but copies are also useful if the originals are lost or destroyed.
* Contact information (including phone numbers and websites) for your banks, brokerage firms, and insurance companies.
* Copies of your financial information such as credit and debit cards (front and back) and checks (front). During a disaster, you may need this information to authorize payments.
* Current insurance policy information for homeowner/renter, auto, and life insurance coverages.
* Originals and copies of medical information, such as insurance cards and health records.
* An inventory of valuable personal property. Document the value of the items by keeping receipts and/or written appraisals, and perhaps photos.

If a disaster or other emergency strikes, you may only have seconds or minutes to react. In those critical moments, your focus will be on your family’s safety. Once the immediate danger has passed, having your homeowners, renters, or flood insurance policy, bank account information, and other reco...

09/24/2026

56% of adults can cover a $400 emergency. Be part of the growing number who are savers and have an emergency fund.

09/23/2026

Access and functional needs (AFN) refers to individuals who are or have:

Physical, developmental, or intellectual disabilities
Chronic conditions or injuries
Limited English proficiency
Older adults
Children
Low income, homeless, and/or transportation disadvantaged (i.e., dependent on public transit)
Pregnancy

But this list is not inclusive to all the people who may need resources for access and functional needs. Consider if you wear hearing aids you may need resources to help you hear as you communicate with a shelter worker. If you wear glasses or contacts those tools are able to make you see better and if you didn't have either of those you would need help in one way or another. If you broke your foot yesterday while going down some stairs you may need help in navigating a Multi-Agency Resource Center after a major disaster.

These are just some of the few questions that you may consider that don't fall under the "official" title of access and functional needs.

Instead of thinking about disability. Think about what you need, what everyone may need whether in a disaster or not.

There is a framework called CMIST that can help you understand better how you can be better prepared based on your individual circumstances and also to help others who are definately in the list above.

The C stands for communication. Think about ways you communicate with your family, with your co-workers, with strangers and think about what tools you use and what tools they use. Consider if those tools or the mechanisms of communication were disrupted. Think about other alternative ways you can communicate with others.

The M stands for Maintaining Health. Think about what keeps you alive and healthy. Think about the opportunities you have to make your able to do the things you do. It is importatnt to not only think about medications, but also the things that help you to be comfortable and also to help you get the rest you need. Consider what ways you can prepare to help yourself maintain your health in a disaster situation.

I stands for Independence. This covers a wide range or areas in your life, but think about what helps you to be able to take action to be as independent for yourself as possible. Yes we all need each other, that is why we live in communities, be cause we need eachother, but what in your life can you do to help yourself be a soluntion to some potential problems that may arise. And consider that broken foot, or the glasses, these are things to think about when you are gathering information for your preparedness.

S stands for Safety & Security and Support. Think about what makes you feel safe. Think about what may happen in an unsafe situation and how you may react. Think about how you can protect yourself not just physically, but also digitally. And lastly think about all those people who support you and you support them. The people in your life are an integral part of your preparedness. Consider how you can support and help others before and during disasters. Also consider your workplace and how it supports your way of life. What if something happened to your workplace? Have you thought about what you may need to do? Has your workplace considered what it would do with out potential workers. Communities of all types are the strenght of resilience before, during, and after a disaster. Work with others to become better prepared.

T stands for transportation. Don't just think about your vehicle, although your vehicle is a very important part of your preparedness. Think about how and where and why you travel. Think about the consequences of traveling anywhere, even walking. And I am not just talking about bad consequences. These are the good actions you can prepare for and the opportunity to get to know routes, neighbors, and notifications better.

This was quite a long post, but this framework is a good way to start thinking about other things than the regular preparedness stuff you always think about. Yes getting kits and supplies are important, but don't forget about the little things and don't forget about the people.

For more information on CMIST here are some websites you can visit.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pogwfIEWh6Tg170ac1UKN9pu5yLvFlVa_UECYkoqqco/edit?pli=1&tab=t.0

https://disasterstrategies.org/what-is-cmist/

https://bemsp.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2022/10/AFN-Toolkit-Final.pdf

HAVE YOU EVER? Communication Been unable to hear a message due to too much noise e.g. airport, conference, classroom or a microphone is not being used Couldn’t see the information because text was too small or the colors were too dark or too light or missing contacts or glasses? Have you ever ...

09/20/2026

Weather affects our daily lives but it especially affects us when it becomes extreme. Learn about different types of warnings and watches and make sure to know where to go for weather information. Here is the National US National Weather Service Salt Lake City Utah
https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Salt+Lake+City&state=UT&site=SLC&textField1=40.7608&textField2=-111.89&e=0 #.YYSJur3MLPY

Also follow them on Social Media.

Dry and breezy conditions will bring elevated to critical fire weather conditions across portions of the northern and central High Plains through this weekend, where fuels remain largely receptive. Severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall are possible from the Plains into the Upper Midwest, as well a...

09/19/2026

Right now Tooele County Emergency Management and other partners just finished a major exercise to practice setting up a Victim Assistance Center. Tooele County is working to help our communities to be able to recover better by working with multiple partners and practicing together so we may find gaps and address them and try to do a little bit better in our efforts to response and to recovery after a major event.

We invite you to practice what you would do in certain situations. What would you do if you had to evacuate your home? What would you do if you had to evacuate your neighborhood? What would you do if you were in an active threat situation? What would you do if you were stranded somewhere becuase of car trouble? There are many scenarios that you can talk about and think of best lessons learned and practice your actions so you too can find gaps and become better toward recovery with whatever may happen.

There are different ways to practice. Do what works best for your family, workplace, worship place, or while driving. You will be glad you did.

We are glad we have come together to practice. We have learned a lot.

Here are some recovery helps for you to consider.

How to recover from… What Individuals and Families can do What Government can do What Emergency Management does What Businesses can do What Communities can do What Schools can do What Organizations can do Recovery Support Functions What is Disaster Recovery? Recovery consists of those activities t...