Public comment prompts county to outline evacuations, ‘knock box’ upgrades after election bomb threat

During the Jan. 6 La Paz County Board of Supervisors meeting, Anna Camacho used the public-comment period to urge the county to improve staff safety and public evacuation procedures after a bomb threat during last year’s election that she said had been poorly handled.

Camacho said county employees remain upset that the county did not evacuate and that public information released at the time was inaccurate. “We didn’t get evacuated and we put out there that we did and I just don't feel comfortable with that,” she told the board, urging changes so employees know evacuation procedures and feel safe.

Megan, identified in the meeting as the county administrator, responded that debriefs were held with involved law enforcement agencies. She said facilities maintenance coordinated with the fire department to purchase “knock boxes” (key-access boxes at complexes) and prepare diagrams intended to assist first responders in evacuations. Megan told the board the concerns were “heard loud and clear” and that the county is better prepared going forward.

The chair indicated the county heard the comments and moved on to other agenda items. The meeting transcript records no additional formal action on the item beyond the administrator’s report of measures taken.

Context: Camacho said she speaks as a county employee and asked that the county do a better job protecting employees. The transcript references “CRIT County Sheriff's” in one exchange; no agency official for CRIT spoke on the record during the public-comment item.