[{"_1":2,"_98":-5,"_99":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6146765,"mediaKeyId","5524674-08e3abf3920506e054fffff71afdf523","parentId",5524674,"title","Auburn emergency office promotes CERT classes, home preparedness and grab-and-go kits","audioSeconds",1380,"startMs",933000,"endMs",2313000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5524674-08e3abf3920506e054fffff71afdf523&start=933&end=2313","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5524674-08e3abf3920506e054fffff71afdf523/thumbnail_933000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6146765/Auburn/King-County/Washington/Auburn-emergency-office-promotes-CERT-classes-home-preparedness-and-grab-and-go-kits","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6146765-6b9cf8792c879af130b73202204d032e/orig.mp4?Expires=1770799259&Signature=c1hWDcNSfv57s1BSYTHCQu1xeS97B7HupFHp4RfuNW1bQHoKoTQcAZ7Dl-OxhS2J4ow3gVODr7f0oUZR9hFO8E6wBVP0DJ5Rcj75qAgcyy9czteO0P2lfoOQtcz-NyGVZcma1a6-uM1ChwzdqQGtgOQc4LFmwRCDifrVV48U6iqe0mxcxVVyIj-jxLcVwp98qxr-k-RaRb2TEeJsfoeZQFR7MBacfTHvAnPCofUJ6MvNufQM8031-J7zJUxQ6FKZxNfcJG-J6wl-5fOfedX9e0MzDFdOKgkRSecX4sf1jcWdW3AsIVJmO7ZLuWRybaCam0x3uh3yHQWH5M9Hkzl1Aw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Auburn City, WA","date","2025-08-02T10:47:32.817Z","article","Tyler Turner, Auburn’s emergency management coordinator, described the city’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program and urged residents to enroll. \"CERT stands for Community Emergency Response Team,\" Turner said. \"We do roughly 24, 25 hours of training…search and rescue, disaster medical operations, and a final drill.\"

Turner said Auburn has run almost 60 CERT classes and graduated more than 900 volunteers; the next class discussed in the interview was scheduled for early September (Thursdays at 6 p.m. for about seven weeks, with two Saturday sessions including a final drill and graduation). \"The final Saturday…will be a final drill…and it'll be 9AM to 2PM,\" Turner said.

Both Turner and Matthew Kolpitz urged residents to sign up for alerts and build a home emergency kit. Kolpitz recommended a household kit that covers 7–10 days of self-sufficiency: water, nonperishable food, medicines and transportable supplies in a backpack or grab-and-go bag. \"Get your kit together at home…make sure you're 7 to 10 days ready,\" Kolpitz said.

Turner noted practical tips for medications, suggesting residents check expiration dates and, when permissible, refill early to keep a small supply in a kit. \"A lot of people will refill early when you're allowed…put that excess in the kit and you can build it up over time,\" he said.

Both officials highlighted CERT’s community value: in a large-scale event, neighborhood preparedness reduces the immediate burden on emergency services and helps neighbors help neighbors until responders arrive.

Ending: The city asked interested residents to visit auburnwa.gov/disaster for resources, alert signups and CERT registration information; no formal enrollment actions were taken during the interview.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","That's So Auburn! How Auburn prepares for every emergency under the mountain","oneSentenceSummary","Coordinator Tyler Turner outlined Auburn’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) offerings, class structure and recommended household preparedness steps; officials urged sign-up for county alerts and assembling a 7–10 day kit.","taxTitle","Auburn, King County, Washington","taxId",2616,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6146771,"Auburn emergency officials warn lahar threat requires quick action; city sirens target lahars only",945,1741000,2686000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5524674-08e3abf3920506e054fffff71afdf523&start=1741&end=2686","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5524674-08e3abf3920506e054fffff71afdf523/thumbnail_1741000.jpg","/articles/6146771/Auburn/King-County/Washington/Auburn-emergency-officials-warn-lahar-threat-requires-quick-action-city-sirens-target-lahars-only","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6146771-5d795084d98e060a8adb7123c1a2efe4/orig.mp4?Expires=1770799259&Signature=OjDB4v5DGHcXdW6YsdAXdzBoGEBIDnQCiXYn-urVACt9v1fNi9-282WQPDYzxTwOi-A~WZUwUB4uaHxF1P2bfe2I6fsTvNd3tTWxrywelMD8OwJbiuwCZilHKnBrKmxpxDVMCxbtwEqUvmkJGTQdYkpqADQ1y4USRPB7VO-mSeByD85R6jGe8tKE6WTjoLAV-79djMY94lvCHZnwYCkbdE7bvEbMS-3DMnCGJDs~GoCS8h2tbKuNR8cds9UcQxl0h0xW2fCdHhKHOaL7294QcHjtXLYgf~OHBpqzoND23HW5IOLMdkZ~gwEw4pmfC33Zr4A-mM2aO1GQDMwqG6--Ig__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Emergency officials in Auburn told a city podcast that a lahar — a volcano-related mudflow originating at Mount Rainier — could reach Auburn in roughly 90 minutes in some modeled scenarios and that Auburn’s outdoor sirens are intended specifically for lahar warnings.

\"According to some of the work that we've done in the past with the state…we have roughly 90 minutes,\" Emergency Manager Matthew Kolpitz said. Kolpitz and Emergency Management Coordinator Tyler Turner said additional lead time might be possible if geologic monitoring detects precursory seismic activity, but warned residents to be ready to act quickly.

Turner described the sirens’ purpose: \"Auburn has sirens, that, are for lahar. They're not for flooding. They're not for anything else in Auburn. Other areas of the country use sirens for different reasons, but the ones in the Auburn area are lahar sirens.\"

Officials advised uphill evacuation on foot where possible because roads can congest rapidly. \"Don't take your car. Walk if you can because the roads will be congested, and you probably won't make it in a car,\" Kolpitz said. He recommended moving to higher ground (for example, Lee Hill or West Hill) and following official notifications for route and shelter information.

Officials also discussed other low-probability, high-impact hazards the city watches, including hazardous-materials incidents on rail or at industrial sites, wildland-urban interface fires, dam failure scenarios and Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquakes. Turner said the Howard Hansen Dam was estimated in the podcast discussion to give Auburn roughly six hours of lead time to downtown in a worst-case dam-failure model: \"we'd have about 6 hours,\" he said.

Ending: The emergency office urged residents to sign up for county alerts, learn evacuation routes, keep a grab-and-go kit and pay attention to lahar sirens as part of the city's hazard outreach. No new evacuation orders were issued during the interview.","City officials said lahar flows from Mount Rainier could reach Auburn in roughly 90 minutes and urged residents to move uphill on foot when alerted; Auburn's outdoor sirens are configured for lahar warning only, officials said in a podcast interview.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":91,"_47":92,"_49":93,"_51":94,"_53":95,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":96,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":97,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6146776,"New Auburn emergency manager outlines regional coordination, hazard priorities",0,648000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5524674-08e3abf3920506e054fffff71afdf523&start=648&end=648","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5524674-08e3abf3920506e054fffff71afdf523/thumbnail_648000.jpg","/articles/6146776/Auburn/King-County/Washington/New-Auburn-emergency-manager-outlines-regional-coordination-hazard-priorities","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6146776-e44121e89a143cd9a1a7c28d10f9024c/orig.mp4?Expires=1770799259&Signature=LsjwcvYusH0MxRWwOo2u31EUcsGIKQd92ug0KiJpluSoVluo4Y72rokpH6r1lWtg7r4I5kMNmvssnyUtQQzPQod9ohyRe245XUedD7NiH9Kposkg~v-XaHXgnSYiE~eHRRiW8ynhNaDsuJ6mpmrdghLu1sWYxy8BL8T6vuk7Ybkq5wJqJw9FUV0LqIXfogVZA1~~fbN5fkHox0jkfJF1T20EJgt7etXnXiQy8t2JOQ0fOmznyDIC2ifC-k7bbVFAWqSu57l0AKZU4WQLw8AG1heh6zfOHJvTW~khjrG6pC5Qdq8FrOKv1Lwfdl9NHNAmbwAchQbmUnzq7tlKP7mvCg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Matthew Kolpitz, who joined the City of Auburn as emergency manager on July 1, told a city podcast that his office’s job is to “help communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies.” Mayor Nancy Backus hosted the July conversation and asked Kolpitz and Emergency Management Coordinator Tyler Turner to explain priorities for the city.

Kolpitz said the work centers on preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery while relying heavily on relationships with neighboring jurisdictions, nonprofits and state and federal partners. \"We don't really have much authority…most of it comes from the relationships and agreements that we can establish,\" he said.

Tyler Turner described the day-to-day work as largely administrative and compliance-driven, including updates to the city’s emergency planning documents and ongoing training. \"Right now, Matt and I are looking at updating our comprehensive emergency management plan and our regional hazard mitigation plan,\" Turner said. He also described coordinating volunteer programs, training logistics and community outreach.

Both officials emphasized Auburn’s assets that affect emergency work — an airport, rail lines, notable manufacturing and a casino — and said those increase both risk and the need for cross-agency planning. Kolpitz said those assets make Auburn’s emergency workload “more interesting than maybe another city of comparable size.”

They noted the role of mutual aid agreements and regional committees in multi-jurisdiction incidents and gave examples of support functions emergency management provides in structure fires, such as coordinating shelter, notifications, and liaison work with the Red Cross and the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Turner recounted a multi-unit residential fire that displaced dozens of people overnight and described how emergency management helped place families at a hotel, assign social workers for longer-term housing needs and manage donation offers from the community. \"Community coming together for donations… that's something that emergency management plays a big part in as well,\" Turner said.

Both officials identified communications as a core daily task, including maintaining equipment and interoperability with King and Pierce County systems. They also said emergency management work requires regular exercises and maintaining equipment such as radios.

Kolpitz and Turner encouraged residents to use Auburn’s emergency web resources and county alert systems and to engage with local programs such as CERT (Community Emergency Response Team). Mayor Backus closed the interview by thanking the pair and saying she hoped they would be \"bored\" — a reference to the ideal that emergency managers have no major incidents to handle.

Ending: The city’s emergency team said their immediate tasks include updating the city’s comprehensive emergency management plan and hazard mitigation annexes and preparing upcoming community trainings; no formal policy decisions or votes were made during the interview.","Matthew Kolpitz, who started July 1 as Auburn’s emergency manager, described day-to-day duties, regional partnerships and the city’s hazard profile during a podcast interview with Mayor Nancy Backus; Emergency Management Coordinator Tyler Turner discussed ongoing plan updates and community programs.","actionData","errors"]

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Auburn emergency office promotes CERT classes, home preparedness and grab-and-go kits

Auburn emergency officials warn lahar threat requires quick action; city sirens target lahars only

New Auburn emergency manager outlines regional coordination, hazard priorities