Past Management Approaches
2/ Final Report of the 1992 Rainbow Gathering; Grand Mesa, Uncompaghre and Gunnison National Forest, Overland Reservoir, Colorado.
Current Management Strategy
Creating An Organized Response
Members of the National Incident Team:
Bill Fox - Incident Commander
Gene Smalley - Safety Officer
Rose Davis - Public Affairs/information Officer
John Carpenter - Operations Section Chief for Law Enforcement
Debbie Whitman - Planning Section Chief
Gary Sick - Finance and Logistics Chief
Larry Wade - Communications Section Chief
1999 Incident Management
- Promote the health and safety of Forest Service employees, area residents and Forest visitors.
- Minimize the impact to the environment by interacting closely with the local Forest Service unit, providing information to Gathering organizers and enforcing resource laws.
- Recognize, and to the extent possible, mitigate social and political impacts to the local Forest unit, other Forest visitors and communities.
- Respect the civil rights of Gathering attendees, Forest Service employees and members of cooperating agencies in all management activities.
- Coordinating with the local unit, communities and Rainbow Gathering attendees,
- Cooperating with Federal, State and local agencies,
- Enforcing applicable laws and regulations inside and outside the perimeter of activity in a fair and consistent manner. Enforcement will be commensurate with law enforcement capability and current standards or thresholds set by the affected Judicial District,
- Operating in a financially responsible manner and, at a minimum, remaining within allocated budget,
- Continually providing information, responding to the issues and concerns of state and local elected officials and the community and managing media relations in coordination with the local unit public affairs and line officers.
Team Contacts
Pre-work with other Federal, State/county and local contacts
On Scene Arrival of the National Incident Management Team
Delegation of Authority
Unified Command
Elk County Emergency Services Sheffield Township Police Ridgway Police Department Kane Police Department Ridgway Ambulance Service Warren Police Department Dickinson Mental Health St. Mary's Police Department Pennsylvania Department of Health, Johnsonburg Police Department Food Services Division Pennsylvania Department Elk County Sheriff's Department of Environmental Protection McKean County Sheriff's Department Warren County Sheriff's Department Forest County Sheriff's Department Pennsylvania Game Commission Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Center For Disease Control Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Kane Community Hospital
Closeouts And Critiques
USFS Working Group
Unified Command
COMMAND AND GENERAL STAFF REPORTS
Safety
Objectives
Issues/Concerns
- Water Quality - potable
- Solid and Human Waste Disposal
- Food Preparation and Storage
- Public Health
- Environmental Factors
- Safety of Incident Personnel
- Travel issues related to vehicles
- Health Issues
- Environmental Concerns
- Infectious Diseases
Strategy
Water Quality
Trash And Human Waste
Food Preparation
Public Heath
Environmental Factors
Safety Of Incident Personnel
Defensive Driving Hepatitis Dehydration/Heat Tick Bites Vehicle Maintenance Animal Bites Tornado Safety Gas Wells/Lines Blood Pathogens Lyme Disease Lice/Fleas Heat Exhaustion/Stroke Stress Carelessness Lightning Lice/Fleas
Statistical Reporting
Public Affairs/Information
Objectives
Issues
Strategy
Staffing
Internal Communications
External Communications
Information Office Activity
Television channels 5, 12 and 35 from Erie, Pennsylvania
Television channel 12 from Altoona, Pennsylvania
The Erie Times News
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Harrisburg Patriot
The Bradford Era
The St. Mary's Daily Press
The Ridgway Record
Television Channel 10 from St. Mary's
The Derrick
The Kane Republican
The Warren Times Observer
VIP Visits
Objectives
- Elk, Warren, Forest and McKean County Sheriff's Departments
- Ridgeway Borough, Sheffield Township, Kane Borough,
- City of St. Mary's, Johnsonburg Borough and
- Warren City Police Departments
- Pennsylvania Game Commission
- USDOJ - Drug Enforcement Administration
- USDOJ - U.S. Marshal's Service
- USDOJ - Federal Bureau of Investigation
Strategy
- The Forest Service law enforcement strategy consisted of the following:
- High visibility Law Enforcement patrols throughout the gathering area Primary agencies conducting law enforcement activity at or near the gathering site included the Forest Service and Pennsylvania State Police. The emphasis was on traffic enforcement and high visibility patrols on roads leading to and throughout the gathering area to reduce motor vehicle and pedestrian accidents, and to provide immediate availability of officers to respond to incidents and citizen reports of crimes or emergencies. Pennsylvania Game Commission also patrolled the gathering area.
- The Pennsylvania State Police used horse patrols in the main areas of the gathering to provide for public safety, identify potential problem areas, and support Forest Service personnel in the area. [Deleted-7(E)]
- Applicable laws and regulations were applied by Forest Service Law Enforcement personnel during patrol activities, and violations were documented.
- The Pennsylvania State Police provided support to the local communities and increased patrols on state highways and other public roads leading to and within the gathering area. They also provided law enforcement assistance to Forest Service officers in the gathering area.
- Cooperating state and local agencies established jurisdictional responsibilities.
- Due to the large number of natural gas pipelines and wells within the gathering area, Forest Service Law Enforcement personnel provided fire prevention information to participants and enforced regulations regarding camping and parking near the facilities.
Aviation
Staffing
Law Enforcement Officers (LEO's)
June 10 to June 23, [Deleted - 7(E)] Law Enforcement Officers
June 24 to July 5 [Deleted - 7(E)] Law Enforcement Officers
July 6 - [Deleted - 7(E)] Law Enforcement Officers
July 7 to July 11 [Deleted - 7(E)] Law Enforcement Officers
(includes [Deleted - 7(E)] K-9 unit positions)
Supervisory Personnel
One (1) Operations Section Chief
One (1) Deputy Operations Section Chief
Three (3) Division Supervisors
Investigative Personnel
[Deleted - 7(E)] Criminal Investigators
Support Personnel
One (1) Documentation Clerk