A 6.8 magnitude earthquake had shaken the Elkhorn Mountains around 7:45 a.m., triggering a landslide that blocked most of the interstate over the Boulder Hill and left an 84-passenger school bus unaccounted for. In the town of Boulder, infrastructure damage was severe and about sixty percent of structures had sustained damage.

     That was the scenario painted Thursday night for approximately sixty people representing more than a dozen public service agencies as they gathered in Boulder for a tabletop disaster exercise.

     The goal of the exercise, explained Bob Fry of the State Disaster and Emergency Services Division, was for Jefferson County residents to consider the capabilities available in the community and identify effective ways of putting those assets to work.

     Such an exercise is also a requirement of federal emergency preparedness grants.

     Included in the exercise were representatives of the Jefferson County Public Health Department, the Boulder Medical Clinic, fire districts and ambulance crews from throughout the county, law enforcement officials, the county commission, road department, health board and sanitarian’s office, school districts, Riverside Youth Correctional Facility, Montana Developmental Center, Elkhorn Treatment Center, Youth Dynamics, and the media.

     Seated in small groups, the participants discussed what services, equipment and expertise they could provide, what would be needed, and what others in the community could do to effectively weather the earthquake’s aftermath.

     “This county has a ton of resources, and I think this is an excellent way of letting people know what they are,” said Sheriff Craig Doolittle.

     Several speakers stressed the importance of families, businesses and individuals having disaster plans and 72-hour emergency kits on hand before disaster strikes. No matter how well everything works, it will take time for resources to arrive from the outside and being as self reliant as possible will be a benefit, they said. That is especially true for emergency responders, who could spend days dealing with the aftermath and would be more effective if they are not worried about their own homes and families, they said.

     Jefferson County DES Coordinator Sally Buckles urged community members to attend Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training, where they will learn the skills needed to help a community in the immediate wake of a disaster. CERT classes will be arranged locally as soon as twenty people contact her to sign up for the class, she said.