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St. Johns County emergency operations center coordinates local, state and federal partners during activations
Summary
Deputy Director Kelly Wilson described the EOC as the county—coordination hub for response and recovery, saying activations can expand from a seven-person core team to roughly 120 partners to manage hurricanes, wildfires and long public-health responses.
Wayne Larson, director of public affairs for St. Johns County, spoke with Kelly Wilson, the county—deputy director of emergency management, about how the county runs its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and what the public should expect during activations. "When the EOC is activated, it's the coordination hub for the county for emergencies," Wilson said, describing the EOC's role in coordinating information and resources among local, state, federal and community partners.
Wilson said the EOC spends much of its non-activation time on planning, training and exercises to maintain readiness. She cited hurricanes, wildfires and tornadoes as typical triggers for activation and recalled the EOC's extended COVID-19 response, which involved testing and vaccination support and represented its longest continuous activation. The discussion emphasized the EOC—support role in moving the community through response to recovery and the importance of routine preparedness work.
