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Cowlitz County emergency manager outlines river mapping, alerting and training plans
Summary
Scott Neaves, director of emergency management, briefed commissioners on 2025 alerting statistics (about 56,000 residents reached), drone mapping of the Cowlitz River to monitor sediment from Mount St. Helens, hazard plan updates and training exercises; he warned FEMA funding and timing remain uncertain.
Scott Neaves, director of the county Department of Emergency Management, gave a multi‑part briefing on alerting, planning and training priorities. He told the commissioners that in 2025 the county used multiple systems and "reached about 56,000 residents in Cowlitz County" through subscription and wireless alerting systems.
Neaves described ongoing planning work including a threat hazard identification and risk assessment, completion and state review of the county’s comprehensive emergency management plan, commodities distribution (CPOD) planning, liquid‑fuel distribution points for disasters, and continuity of operations planning for the emergency operations center. He said the county has flown drone mapping of the Cowlitz River for several years to monitor sediment deposition downstream from Mount Saint Helens.
A commissioner raised lidar results used by other agencies, arguing that the lidar scans "show that the level of safety on the Kalas River has not changed due to sediment and that its capacity to hold water hasn't changed either." Neaves responded that the county's drone work captures above‑water visual changes and that "we don't have lidar capability to look down at the river bottom," explaining that only hydrology experts can determine the effect of bed sediment on flow capacity. Neaves also noted observed river course changes, bank erosion north of Castle Rock High School and island growth visible in successive imagery.
Neaves said the county is preparing exercises and training for 2026, including a homeland security exercise and local resilient‑community planning for outlying areas (Riderwood, Toutle, Spirit Lake). He flagged uncertainty around FEMA processes and grant timing, noting an award letter for an EMPG grant but unclear processing timeline.
Next steps: the county will continue drone mapping and hydrology coordination, update the hazard mitigation plan this year, and bring the comprehensive emergency plan to the commissioners for review before wider distribution to cities and partners.
