Orange, Durham County Emergency Responders Assisting Hawaii After Volcanic Eruption

The Kilauea volcano has been experiencing eruptions since mid-May, and the island of Hawaii is still facing many problems. The lava flow has added approximately 320 acres of hardened rock to the island’s land mass, according to the United States Geological Survey. Many locals are still displaced from their homes.

Volcano avicity in Hawaii. Photo via Orange County Emergency Services.

Emergency management teams from across the country have been sent to Hawaii, including one with two local North Carolinians. Kirby Saunders is Orange County’s Emergency Management Coordinator and David Marsee holds the same position for Durham County. They’re currently staying in the Hawaii County National Guard Reserve 22 miles from the volcanic activity as they plan disaster response.

“Our job is to embed with them and assist them in managing this,” Saunders said in a phone interview from Hawaii, “as well as documenting and having accountability. It’s still obviously an unsafe environment. The lava is still flowing and flowing pretty well, and our job is to support our brothers and sister halfway around the world.”

Saunders and Marsee are two of six North Carolinians currently working in Hawaii, Saunders said, and they’re the third group from the state to help with management. They’re in the middle of a two-week shift, and they’ll help transition to a new management team once they’re finished.

Hawaii response facility. Photo via Orange County Emergency Services.

Dealing with a volcano is new territory for both emergency management coordinators. Saunders described the challenging factors they’re facing, like sulfur-dioxide omissions, continuing seismic activity and Pele’s hair, which are falling particles similar to fiberglass. But he said it is a great learning opportunity and that they still apply the same management practices.

“The way we manage any threat or impact to our communities is the same across the United States,” said Saunders. “It’s the same process that we use at home no matter what the threat is, so that’s why we’re here and really supporting them.”

Marsee said these new factors and challenges in Hawaii will provide important experiences for the team to apply to their own North Carolina communities.

“I think one of the biggest things that we can bring back is the teamwork that we’re developing all the way across the country and halfway across the world,” Marsee said. “We’re all doing the same thing, and we’re all building that relationship. And I think it helps us refine our management skills out here, so if something does happen locally, we’re better prepared and more able to manage those events.”

Although no end to the volcanic activity is in sight and it will take years for the displaced Hawaiians to fully recover, Saunders said he believes the locals are keeping positive outlooks.

“This is obviously a little bit different because of the amount of the destruction but they seem to be pretty resilient here,” he said. “There’s lot of support and help from all across the country here, just doing the best we can for those who are displaced and who’ve lost their homes and businesses, but overall they seem to be pretty resilient.”

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, eruptions in the east rift zone around the volcano are still occurring as recent as of late last week.

Photo via United States Geological Survey