Puyallup releases 56-page lahar report, warns 41% of residents live in modeled hazard zone
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Summary
City staff presented a 56-page study using a 2022 USGS worst-case lahar model showing roughly 17,400 residents (about 41% of Puyallup) and 14,800 workers (about 44%) are inside the modeled lahar footprint; staff outlined evacuation routes, critical-facility exemptions, and a regional evacuation exercise for 50,000 students and staff.
Kirsten Hoffman, the city’s emergency management manager, presented a 56-page report to the Puyallup City Council on March 24 that used the U.S. Geological Survey’s 2022 lahar modeling to assess local risk and preparedness.
The report, compiled by city staff with USGS input, used the outer boundary of a worst-case lahar footprint to avoid implying any interior areas were safe. Rachel Brown, a city planner, said the city has about 42,700 residents, of whom roughly 17,400 (about 41%) live inside the modeled lahar zone; about 14,800 jobs (roughly 44% of the city’s workforce) are located in that same footprint.
“The study focused on the city limits and used the new USGS model to ensure we captured areas that would realistically be impacted in the case of this lahar event,” Brown said.
The presentation outlined which kinds of critical facilities trigger extra review under the city’s municipal code when proposed inside the lahar zone. To obtain an exemption to build a facility categorized as critical, an applicant must demonstrate a reliable alert system, a coordinated evacuation plan, and ongoing training and drills to ensure occupants can evacuate safely, Brown said.
Scott Corwin, the city’s GIS coordinator, summarized infrastructure vulnerabilities and the transportation impacts a large lahar could cause. He noted the city’s public-works backups and emergency operations center are sited uphill and that some communications and backup systems are hardened by virtue of their location outside the inundation footprint.
Hoffman emphasized outreach and exercise work. The city is one month from a regional lahar evacuation exercise that she described as the largest in the world: staff expect more than 50,000 students and staff from seven jurisdictions and six school districts to participate. The city has an interactive dashboard with evacuation routes and designated evacuation locations for residents to use in planning.
Council members pressed staff on specific contingency planning. Council member Adler asked, “What keeps you up at night?” Hoffman said public complacency and the difficulty of preparedness for households facing many competing pressures. Council member King asked about hospital coordination; Hoffman said Good Samaritan Hospital participates in planning, has its own emergency management committee, and is included in exercise planning.
Council members also asked about notification timing and arrival-time modeling. Hoffman and Brown said the USGS and Washington State Emergency Management Division provide the official triggers and initial notification timing; the city’s role is preparation, evacuation route mapping and public outreach. Wireless Emergency Alerts and the Genesys alert system can send messages to the public in English and Spanish and may be configured for additional languages.
The report also documents mitigation and preparedness steps already under way, including an East Pierce Lahar Rapid Action Plan for first responders and references to the city’s hazard mitigation plan. Staff said they will continue outreach, promote evacuation-route familiarity, and return with operational details as required by the council.
The council did not take formal policy action at the meeting beyond receiving the report and directing continued planning and public engagement.
