County prosecutors say statutory criteria no longer clearly met for local emergency declaration after victims recovered

Cowlitz County commissioners met to consider whether to declare a local emergency following a recent incident and were told by the county prosecutor that the criteria for a declaration were met earlier in the response but have since narrowed.

At the meeting Commissioner Doll said local leaders had discussed the possibility of an emergency declaration to help families and affected businesses and that "over the weekend they've recovered everybody," adding that Long View Fire and the coroner were no longer involved and "the state's pretty much running this thing." The commissioner urged cities and community groups to be vocal about potential collaborative assistance even if the county does not declare an emergency.

Jason Lorraine, appearing as a county prosecutor, told the board that three legal conditions must be met for a county to declare a state of emergency: that a true emergency exists, that suspension of statutory or constitutional restrictions is clearly articulated to permit immediate contracting or other actions, and that the need for extraordinary authority requires prompt application. He said, "legally I think we last week we would have met the standards for an emergency," and noted that recovery and identification of victims had reduced the emergency's extent.

Lorraine also explained the practical purpose of a declaration is to allow the county to suspend normal bidding and procurement rules to acquire immediate goods or services when county resources are depleted. He said the county could revisit a declaration if state or federal agencies (for example Ecology or other regulators) became overburdened or unable to address an evolving hazard.

An unidentified participant asked whether the county's ability to declare an emergency was lost because the board had taken no action the prior week. Staff and the prosecutor responded that the county retains the option to declare a local emergency if the three statutory requirements are met and that, at present, the state has not declared a state-level emergency.

The board did not declare an emergency at the meeting and encouraged cities, emergency managers and community organizations to raise specific needs so the county can consider collaborative assistance or revisit a declaration if conditions change.