Sign of Distress at Junction MP 20 on Hwy to Navajo Mountain, UT

KAYENTA, AZ – For the Kayenta Police Department, the Operation Winter Storm officially began January 21, 2010, Thursday afternoon when the Navajo Nation declared a state of emergency. As of Thursday, January 28, 2010, the incident command center in Kayenta expects that it will remain in operation through the weekend and possibly into the early weeks of February.  In order to coordinate relief efforts and centralize communication bases, Kayenta became one of seven Incident Command Posts on the Navajo reservation. The Kayenta Incident Command coordinated efforts for northeastern Arizona Chapters in Kayenta, Dennehotso, Chilchinbeto, Navajo Mountain, Inscription House, and Shonto Chapter.

Each morning the work day begins with local community volunteers, Kayenta Police Department, representatives from Kayenta Chapter, Inscription House, Dennehotso, Chilchinbeto, Navajo Mountain, Shonto, Black Mesa Chapter, Peabody Coal Company, Indian Health Services, Navajo County Sheriff’s Department, Kayenta Volunteer Fire Department, Kayenta Unified School District, Kayenta Township, Navajo Department of Transportation, Arizona Department of Transportation, Navajo Nation Rangers, and Navajo County met at the Kayenta Town Hall Conference Room for a briefing at 8:00 am to review priorities, and assignments were given for that day. A debriefing was held later in the afternoon at 5:00 pm again at the Town Hall to account for the return and safety of operations staff who were out in the field that day. The emergency response team discussed achievements for the day and set priorities for the next day.

For a successful mission each day, the task force set four priorities to address as they sought out families unaccounted for in the more isolated areas within 20,000 square miles of service area: 1) medical needs, 2) food and water, 3) wood and coal, 4) and hay for livestock.

Bob Orrill, Battalion Chief with the Flagstaff Fire Department who was sent out on behalf of an Arizona State All Risk Incident Management Team emergency response program.  He said the hardest hit areas for the Kayenta Incident Command were the Black Mesa area and Nakaii Mesa. Mr. Orill was assigned to work with Sergeant Byron Coolie and Sergeant Lorna Benally in charge of planning and logistics for Operation Winter Storm 2010. The Kayenta Fire Department’s Chris Claw served as the Safety Chief and brought his team onboard to help distribute relief supplies. Through these efforts and planning, the Kayenta Recreation Center was set up as a storage area to stockpile water, potatoes, and Meals Ready To Eat (MREs) which were distributed to those in need of relief. The Kayenta Unified School District surplus yard stockpiled hay to be delivered to families who have livestock.

As the operation moved into Day Eight, Chief Bob Orill said that for the Navajo Reservation, “Access issues have been the most hampering, as roads have not been maintained and the distances between homes have been time very consuming. If all the roads were paved, there wouldn’t be any issues at all,” he said. He commended the Kayenta Police Department and the community on how well they worked together in this effort. As the worst part of the crisis came to a close, Mr. Orill returned to Flagstaff on February 01, 2010. “Now, the team here is working together really well. Several weeks of muddy roads will continue. We will continue to have these incidents. Make sure you tell your fellow community members to have their medicines, hay, and food on stock, and to plan ahead of inclement weather warnings. Please heed those warnings and ask all families to always be prepared for events such as this.” Chief Bob Orrill has been with the Flagstaff Fire Department for over 25 years.

Although most volunteers and the crux of the relief effort is slowly beginning to transition back to the Chapters, the Kayenta Incident Command will remain open as a centralized area of communication and a distribution area for relief supplies. As of January 31, 2010, Operation Winter Storm on the Navajo Nation, the estimated cost to date is $1,660,000. And, these supplies have been distributed Reservation-wide:

39, 684 meals
 331 USDA Food Bags
1,218 bags of food delivered by St, Mary’s Food Bank
30,165 gallons of water
5,400 Red Cross Blankets distributed
120 tons of coal
274 bundles of wood

In any case, Operation Winter Storm at the Kayenta Incident Command was one of the most organized public displays of the public safety motto, “To Protect and to Serve.” The Kayenta Recreation Center will remain a storage area for relief supplies, as supplies, such as potatoes, food, Meals Ready to Eat, and blankets get distributed out into the communities in the early weeks of February.