Emergency manager runs 'Operation North Star' tabletop to test wildfire response, messaging and declarations

Teton County Emergency Manager Rich Oakes led a seminar and tabletop exercise on emergency governance and crisis communications for the Town of Jackson and Teton County, using a fictional “Operation North Star” wildfire scenario to prompt discussion about when elected officials should declare emergencies, delegate authority and coordinate public messaging. Oakes told the joint meeting that the Emergency Operations Plan assigns response roles and that the on-scene incident commander handles tactics while an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) supports resource requests and information synthesis.

The scenario Oakes read described a fast-moving wildfire burning near Crystal Butte that destroyed several residences, cut off Cache Creek Drive and produced valley-wide smoke. Oakes asked both bodies whether…