Drill in Beaumont: 10 Cities to Take Part in 'Mass Care + Shelter Exercise' April 9

Disaster preparedness, including plans and protocols to care for uninjured evacuees, will be the focus of an exercise next week when representatives of Riverside County and 10 cities meet in Beaumont.

The drill, which is not open to the public, will be staged in the gym at Beaumont Civic Center on Monday April 9. It's being organized by the county's Mass Care and Shelter Task Force, a coordinator for the event said Wednesday.

"A large wildfire scenario is the backdrop for the activation of our shelter protocols," LeAnn Coletta, task force chairperson, said in a phone interview. "The exercise will be inside the gym area of the civic center."

About 40 people, representing the cities of Riverside, Corona, Moreno Valley, Wildomar, Menifee, Canyon Lake, Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City, Calimesa, Beaumont and the county are expected as of Wednesday, Coletta said.

Beaumont was selected for its accessible location, Coletta said. A similar drill and exercise is planned April 11 in Palm Springs for cities of the Coachella Valley and other parts of the county.

Coletta is the emergency management program manager for the city of Moreno Valley. She has experience supervising mutual aid responses to help evacuees from previous devastating wildfires in San Diego and San Bernardino counties.

"The task force has done these type of exercises before in classroom settings," Coletta said. "This is the first time we're going to utilize new guidelines and checklists in a disaster scenario."

Role-players during the exercise "will use routine communication systems as normally would be available during a wildfire emergency," according to a copy of a 19-page task force plan for the April 9 and April 11 events. "All telephone and/or radio communications transmitted during the exercise will begin with 'This is an EXERCISE message.'"

The Mass Care and Shelter Functional Exercise Plan was developed in accordance with guidance set forth in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program.

"The functional exercises will provide shelter staff with an opportunity to have a slow-paced hands-on training to familiarize staff with their new standardized roles and responsibilities," the plan states.

Some participants Monday will bring trailers to transport cots and other shelter materials. Parking for the trailers will be available on the north side of the civic center.

The exercise in Beaumont will begin at 8 a.m. and conclude at 1 p.m.

Beaumont Civic Center is at 550 E. 6th St.