Staff Writer
An inter-agency cooperative drill is currently underway at Stevens Field, Archuleta County’s airport, simulating a plane crash and subsequent emergency response.
The exercise began with a 911 call at 1 p.m. and is expected to run until about 2:30 p.m. Stevens Field is closed for the afternoon.
According to Airport Manager Kate Alfred, a total of six entities are participating in the training: the airport, the Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office, ACSO’s Department of Emergency Operations, Pagosa Springs Medical Center EMS, the Pagosa Fire Protection District and Archuleta County Combined Dispatch.
Following the last real incident, which occurred in January, Alfred said that, although each responding agency knew what it was supposed to be doing, the coordination between the agencies needed to be worked out.
Prior to today’s real exercise, the agencies met to work out a response plan and completed a “tabletop” drill.
