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Emergency management reports FEMA reimbursement delay, EOP rewrite near completion, and new solar sirens
Summary
Amarillo-area emergency management briefed the court: FEMA reimbursement for a recent fire remains pending, the county’s Emergency Operations Plan rewrite is nearly complete and due to the state this year, and two solar sirens were installed with additional coverage gaps noted.
Max, representing the Amarillo Area Office of Emergency Management, told the court that reimbursement for the Wendy Dews fire is at FEMA/TDEM review and that staff had catalogued resources and costs for submission. He said the county’s Emergency Operations Plan — a multi-hundred-page document being revised since 2020 — is in its final stages and will be submitted to chief elected officials for signature and then to the state.
On preparedness tools, Max said the office finished physical installation of two solar-powered sirens at county fire stations and is finalizing solar-panel hookups before integrating them into the county system. He said the sirens’ practical radius is roughly one mile (affected by wind and terrain) and estimated a purchase-and-install cost of about $50,000 per siren; additional placements will be considered as growth and grants (AIP) allow. “With our wind and terrain and things like that, we try to plan at a good mile — you'll hear it very well at a mile,” Max said.
