DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY SERVICES

Logan Ripple, North Dakota Forest Service, left, is assisted by Pfc. Chany C. Chany, 188th Engineer Company, center, and Spc. Matthew Duku, 142nd Engineer Battalion, in sifting through the ashes in search of smoldering embers in the area northwest of Grassy Butte, North Dakota, September 9, 2021.

The North Dakota Department of Emergency Services (NDDES) continues to be invaluable for the citizens of North Dakota. The NDDES operates under the supervision of the Office of the Adjutant General and consists of the Division of Homeland Security and the Division of State Radio. Its vision is to provide a safe, secure, and resilient North Dakota.

The agency’s mission is to provide North Dakota with a central coordinating agency for public safety communications, prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery. This mission is accomplished with about 105 employees. NDDES provides 24/7 emergency communications and resource coordination with more than 50 lead and support agencies, private enterprises, and voluntary organizations to assist local and tribal jurisdictions in disaster and emergency response activities. It administers federal disaster recovery programs and the Homeland Security Grant Program.

With less than four percent of its overall $177 million budget coming from the state’s general fund, NDDES provides an enormous return on investment for North Dakotans. These dollars are especially important when disaster strikes and in other times of need. Through Federal

Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Public Assistance Program,

NDDES has coordinated the obligation of more than $126 million to help reimburse local, state, tribal, and non-profit organizations for expenses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as an additional $15 million for disaster damages caused by severe storms and flooding. The agency also coordinated the distribution of almost $14 million in federal grants to establish and bolster emergency management programs throughout the state. 14 Office of the Adjutant General Since 1997, NDDES has helped fund more than $250 million in hazard mitigation projects designed to prevent damages from future disaster events. According to Pew Charitable Trusts, an average of $6.54 is saved for every $1 spent on mitigation activities in North Dakota. Using that formula, it is estimated NDDES hazard mitigation projects have prevented more than $1B in disaster damages.

In 2021, North Dakota contended with a series of summer storms. NDDES assisted local jurisdictions affected by these events by compiling information and submitting a request for a presidential major disaster declaration. The June storms, which caused overland flooding and produced damaging winds and hail, resulted in more than $2.3 million in damage to roads and other infrastructure. The declaration covered nine counties: Burke, Divide, Emmons, Grant, Kidder, LaMoure, Sioux, Williams, and McKenzie. It unlocked FEMA public assistance to help cities, counties, and townships pay for the costs of repairing roads and other infrastructure.

NDDES additionally has been fully involved in the state’s response to historic drought conditions, as well as an extremely active fire season this year. In 2021, North Dakota has experienced more than 2,400 fires that burned more than 125,600 acres. With its partners at the North Dakota Forest Service and NDNG, NDDES coordinated the response to significant wildland fire events, including an April 1 fire that encroached on the City of Medora and prompted evacuations. Local, tribal, state and federal agencies also responded to two large wildfires over April 30 - May 2. The Roosevelt Creek Fire in the Little Missouri National Grassland, north of Medora, burned more than 4,600 acres, while another fire on the Fort Berthold Reservation,

about six miles south of Mandaree, North Dakota, burned an estimated 9,800 acres.

Some dramatic improvements leveraging technology, however, were generated during NDDES’s involvement in response operations. One of those innovations was a GPS-configured wildland fire dashboard that provided leaders, planners, and firefighters with better situational awareness. It was the first time data could be compiled through reports from local emergency managers and 9-1-1 calls, as well as historical data from the Integrated Reporting of Wildland-Fire Information (IRWIN) system used by fire departments.

NDDES also initiated a program to augment the state’s firefighting capabilities and resources by creating a wildland task force for the state. The task force concept was adopted to allow local fire departments the ability to respond outside their jurisdictions if needed. Departments that volunteer will coordinate directly with the Forest Service to preposition personnel and equipment for any potential state wildfire suppression missions.

While serving and protecting our citizens at home, NDDES also coordinated and resourced firefighting teams to provide aid to another state across the country. A group of 15 firefighters from the Williston, Williston Rural, Bismarck Rural, and Dickinson Fire Departments spent two weeks supporting Hurricane Ida recovery efforts in September along the Gulf Coast. This was after Gov. Doug Burgum approved an EMAC request from the state of Louisiana, allowing North Dakota’s firefighters to assist with structural fire suppression missions there. STATE RADIO

In NDDES’s Division of State Radio, its emergency dispatchers perform heroically each day to ensure citizens and first responders are safe. In 2021, the team fielded more than 232,000 phone calls with just over 32,000 being 9-1-1 emergency calls. North Dakota’s emergency communicators coordinate with first responders to ensure that help is provided on what might be a person’s worst day by coordinating 9-1-1 services, as well as emergency medical, fire, and law enforcement response. It is the primary dispatch service for the North Dakota Highway Patrol and services 25 counties across the state.

State Radio’s communications center is open 24 hours a day and provides direct assistance to more than 4,000 users representing 287 federal, state, local, and tribal agencies. Services include the following:

• AMBER/Silver/Blue Alert Response • Mobile Data Terminal Communication Systems • National Crime Information Center (NCIC) • National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (NLETS) • National Warning System (NAWAS) • N.D. Law Enforcement Telecommunications System • State Radio Communications System • State warning point for the National Warning System notification • Statewide Paging System • Statewide 9-1-1 and Emergency Telephone Systems • Statewide Roadblock System • Statewide Frequency Coordination System

Maj. Gen. Al Dohrmann, North Dakota adjutant general, recognizes Jill Monroe with a coin in honor of her nearly four decades of service to the communities of North Dakota. Monroe, a dispatcher with the North Dakota Division of State Radio, was honored at a retirement ceremony, Bismarck, North Dakota, June 14, 2021.