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Canyon residents urged to take FEMA trainings; MSD to schedule tabletop emergency exercises
Summary
Attendees at the MSD work meeting pressed for practical emergency exercises after staff outlined emergency coordination with Unified Fire Authority and FEMA training plans. Staff said Brian and Madison will schedule tabletop exercises and pointed members to a March 28 FEMA session for protocol training.
During the same MSD work meeting, multiple participants pressed for practical emergency exercises after staff reviewed MSD emergency coordination and training.
An unidentified presenter explained MSD's emergency-response role: "We have a team of 5 people who are on a call list. So we rotate through if there's an emergency, then we get the phone call and then we activate," and emphasized that MSD allocates resources but does not replace experienced incident managers from UFA. The presenter also encouraged members to participate in FEMA training (ATC and G402 series) to learn terminology and hierarchy.
Several attendees recounted past emergencies and asked for tabletop drills so officials would understand who leads and how authority is exercised. One attendee said evacuations in prior events were called prematurely and asked for scenario practice; the presenter agreed exercises are part of training.
Staff committed to scheduling more local tabletop exercises: "Brian and Madison are gonna schedule table top exercises too once they get more into the more detailed stuff for you specifically," the presenter said. The presenter and staff pointed to a FEMA session scheduled for March 28 (09:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.) as an immediate learning opportunity.
Why it matters: Canyon roads and visitor traffic were repeatedly cited as reasons to strengthen emergency planning and exercises. Participants said practical experience with protocols would reduce confusion during incidents and better define MSD and UFA roles.
Next steps: Staff will follow up with members to arrange tailored tabletop exercises and share FEMA training dates and materials. No formal policy or funding changes were decided at the meeting.
