Potter County outlines emergency steps after ‘Stinky Fire’ that destroyed dozens of homes

Judge Tanner convened the meeting and the court received a detailed briefing on the wildfire that affected Potter County in mid-May. Max Dunlap, Potter County emergency management coordinator, said the county activated the Emergency Operations Center in advance of the fire and that a local disaster declaration was signed and transmitted to the state on 05/15/2026 to open state-level assistance options.

Dunlap described the incident timeline, including a first voluntary evacuation notice sent via IPAWS at about 04:40 a.m. on Sunday, May 17, and a mandatory evacuation issued around 4:00 p.m. on Monday, May 18. He told the court that initially fires were limited to a landfill fence line but later crossed that boundary and required additional resources and mutual-aid. He emphasized the fiscal threshold for a full FEMA individual-assistance request, saying, “The state's fiscal threshold for this is over $53,000,000 of uninsured loss.”

County emergency staff explained debris management phases: initial ash-out and household site cleanup, moving remaining debris to the appropriate landfills (with hazardous and nonhazardous separation), and coordination with state partners to collect curbside piles not yet transported. Dunlap said an after-action report would be compiled over weeks to months and would guide future improvements in planning, notifications and sheltering.

The briefing included counts from state assessments: Dunlap reported the last official tally showed 52 homes destroyed, one with major damage (rounded in some references to 53), and 77 homes impacted but not destroyed. Commissioners pressed staff on notification methods (IPAWS text alerts, NWS fire warnings, radio/TV), the availability of sirens in affected neighborhoods and the role of sheriff and fire units in door-to-door evacuations. The court did not take additional immediate emergency votes but discussed next steps for debris pickup and resident outreach.