As firefighters responded right away to the call as soon as wildfires broke out in the Northland, other first responders were at the ready, with people as their priority.

Josh Brinkman, St. Louis County’s Emergency Management Coordinator, says his team was actively monitoring the situation right away. Early on he says, they could tell it was going to be big – but they were prepared.

“What do we need to make it a safe response for not only the responders, but the residents that are potentially in the way of the fire? Spinning up a lot of resources like command trucks and rescue squad and deputies to really get those people really close, so if we have to jump into action, everyone’s there to do so.” Brinkman told WDIO.

Eventually, they did have to jump into action, and when the time came to evacuate residents, one step was anticipating what evacuees might need.

“So we’re identifying from the residents, are they willing to leave? Are they able to leave by themselves or do they need assistance to get out of the area? So if they need assistance we can send somebody to pick them up, give them a ride, whatever the case is that they need that assistance to get out. And then looking at do they have family in the area that they’re staying with? Do we need to open up a shelter?”

Brinkman told WDIO he thinks the process went very well, with roughly 500 homes evacuated. He says the success was thanks to lots of preparation, and the county’s online “ready-set-go” map, the first time it’s been used in a large scale situation. But while the initial evacuation was successful, the difficulties continue for the victims, especially those who don’t have much to return to.

“Recovery on the tail end of a disaster like this is definitely one of the toughest parts and it’s not something that happens quickly either,” Brinkman explained, “Talking with a lot of the residents who have lost their homes and lost absolutely everything except for maybe something that’s in a safe deposit box in a bank. That’s a tough conversation to have and I can’t even pretend to put myself in their shoes when they’re going through this.”

As the victims rebuild, it takes a lot of resources. Members of Brinkman’s team have been in constant contact with people who’ve suffered losses, and are helping to get them connected to what resources they can.

“We’re in close partnership with those nonprofits to really ensure that the money that’s raised gets into the right hands. If you lost your entire home and everything you have we want to make sure those people are taking care of because that’s what they deserve.”

WDIO has teamed up with United Way to help raise money for victims of wildfires. More information can be found here.