Depot workers learn from hurricanes
Emergency planners say stay put
JESSICA SWAIN
 Friday, September 23rd, 2005

Umatilla Chemical Weapons Depot munitions.

It's gridlock in Houston as thousands try to feel before Hurricane Rita. People in charge of any emergency at the Umatilla Chemical Weapons Depot say it would be the same scene in Oregon. Sure there are fewer people, but most roads are only one or two lanes.

"There's not enough time to get the people out before the danger hits," says Morrow Co. CSEPP spokesperson Maureen Roxbury.

That's why emergency planners say the best thing people living near the Depot can do is stay put. Unlike in Houston, is something does happen at the Depot, people wouldn't have time to get out. Any chemical disaster would spread quickly and in whatever direction the wind is blowing.

Emergency planners say they're working out the final kinds on an evacuation plan they'd use after a chemical plume clears. To speed the process, every traffic signal along Highway 395 in Hermiston can now be controlled by computer. Each stoplight also has a remote control camera so emergency planners can see how smoothly traffic is flowing and if police need to redirect drivers.

Emergency planners say they're currently working on signs to label evacuation routes and drop arm barricades to close any roads leading to the Depot at a moments notice.