My Time as the Rich County Emergency Manager Bryce Nielson

It started back in 2003. I just finished with 12 years as the Garden City Mayor 4 years as a Rich County Commissioner and I had retired from my Wildlife Resources career of 33 years. The Rich County Emergency Manager position came open, so I figured I would apply for it to give me a new challenge. Little did I know that when I got the job it would turn into a second career. That was 22 years ago, and I retired this past week. 

Most of the emergency managers in Utah have fire or law enforcement backgrounds. I was the odd man out being a fish biologist/politician from a small rural county. The emergency manager is an administrative position. I spent most of most of my time looking at a computer, attending meetings and working with individuals in emergency management. I wrote grants for equipment and partial funding for my position. I was not fighting fires or making rescues, but I supported the responders that were. To be effective I needed to know FEMA’s rules, the State policies and be able to interpret them for any situation. It needs to be automatic, so you train and train for these types of events. You need to know what to do in the event of emergency who to call and how to deal with it. Planning and exercise are critical along with knowing who you're working with from the different areas of the region. 

In Utah, most of our emergency plans are associated with earthquakes which certainly will occur. If the big one hits the Wasatch Front, I don't think it will impact Rich County significantly other than the effects of all the people coming here to escape the impacts from where they live. This may result in commodity shortages and restricted travel, but plans exist for this. My primary concerns are with wildfire and extreme weather events. They will be far more localized. Evacuation from these types of events will be challenging especially with our population of seasonal transient visitors. We need to stay aware of these threats. 

Emergency Management is something you plan and train for years for and hope never happens. Fortunately, I was never involved in a major disaster. We all think nothing will happen in Rich County. That may have been the case over the last 20 years, but it could happen tomorrow. We can live our lives comfortably because we live in a beautiful area and threats are low. Just remember to remain vigilant and stay aware of what is going on in the world around you. I have appreciated the opportunity to be the Rich County Emergency Manager. Now I need to find something else to keep me out of trouble.