Mike Smith, Williams County emergency management director, briefed commissioners June 17 on the department's responsibilities, regional mutual aid and upcoming exercises.

Smith said the county plans for, responds to, recovers from and mitigates natural and manmade hazards and that Williams County is among the state's counties with the largest hazardous‑materials inventories. "We are one of the top three tier‑2 counties in the state," he said, describing frequent coordination with oil companies and other government partners.

Smith outlined mutual‑aid and regional training arrangements with neighboring North Dakota counties and with counties across the Montana border, and said the county coordinates exercises and special‑event support (parade logistics, camperies and other events) to test equipment and procedures. He said the department helps with HAZMAT responses, spill follow‑up and liaisons with the state to ensure cleanup.

The emergency manager said the county will host a triannual full‑scale exercise at the airport in August with the North Dakota National Guard civil support team; previous exercises drew more than 200 participants. Smith also described outreach to local schools and the recent Fort Buford campery where the National Guard Lakota helicopter participated and scouts were shown emergency procedures. "We had a 125 scouts, and we're able to set up ... an area that we would do, say, if we had to go to a tornado response," he said.

Smith emphasized cross‑jurisdictional radio work to maintain mutual‑aid communications and said the county has coordinated programming to allow Montana partners to patch channels in mutual‑aid incidents. He said that work proved important during recent wildland fire responses that involved more than 35 agencies.

No board action was required; the briefing provided operational context for several county safety and preparedness efforts.