Crescent Valley looks ahead: Community gathers to tackle potential disasters

On a seemingly perfect autumn day, the residents of Crescent Valley gathered on Oct. 22 with their local town advisory board to talk about the opposite of perfection: disaster.

The meeting, led by Chair Diana Kersey, Vice Chair Jeremy Rice and member Laura Shivers, was focused on creating a detailed plan to protect the community from future threats, be it blizzards, fires or industrial accidents.

The centerpiece of the meeting was a vital workshop for the Hazard Mitigation Plan. This essential blueprint, which is being created for Eureka County, White Pine County and the Ely Shoshone Tribe, is key to accessing federal funding to make the region safer.

Overseeing the workshop was Eureka Public Works Director Jeb Rowley, alongside Randy Brawley of Wise Oak Consulting. Brawley, a consultant with deep experience, including a long tenure with FEMA’s Region 9, stressed the urgency of planning now.

“Here right now we have a lovely day outside and not much is happening; so, now is the time to think of things we can do to avoid hazards or lessen their impact,” Brawley advised the room. He explained that to receive funding from FEMA, “projects need to be in our hazard mitigation plan: we need to identify them now and have an approved plan” so “there’s money available.”

Learning from the past, planning for the future

The push to create a solid plan comes from real-world experience. Rowley shared his perspective on budgeting and protection. “If there’s concerns and risks, obviously we should have an idea of what they are when we go into capital outlay of our budget season,” he noted. His main goal, he said, was to “help people protect what they’ve already put in place.” Rowley recalled that when Eureka faced serious flooding in 2023, the county “had a lot of resources and contacts” but “didn’t have a lot of plans.”

The core of the workshop focused on immediate community concerns and potential solutions.

Town board member Laura Shivers was one of the first to raise a critical question: “What are we going to do if there’s an emergency?” She asked if a heat wave or a severe cold snap hit and people were stuck, “Where are these people going to go?” Shivers emphasized that even simple answers — like knowing “Who do I contact? Where do I go?” — could make a huge difference in a crisis.

Resident Nona Kellerman echoed the concern about being cut off. “If we get cut off through some disaster and we can’t get out of Crescent Valley, what happens to the town or the people? We don’t have any set plan in place, do we?” Kellerman also highlighted the dangers of extreme heat, noting she went to the library during last year’s heat wave just for the air conditioning, and wondered about homebound residents on oxygen during power outages.

Brawley confirmed that these concerns were exactly why the meeting was being held. He explained that projects identified in the mitigation plan could be a combination of things for the “whole region.” He also mentioned that grants from Homeland Security could provide up to $50,000 to bring in caches of water, food, cots and generators.

The challenges of an evolving community

Sheriff Umina introduced a major long-term concern related to the area’s economic growth: the future of mining. As mining “takes off,” he noted the potential for incidents involving materials like “yellow cake/plutonium.” He asked, “If something major happens here, where are we going to move everyone?” He also raised the need for a secondary dispatch center and the money to pay for such measures.

Sheriff Umina threw his support behind an idea for a combined Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Crescent Valley, where EMS, Fire and the Sheriff’s Office could be housed in one place.

Melinda Sharkozy, who is the risk manager at Cortez Mine and an EMT for Eureka County, offered her expertise, noting she “does all this for the mine site.”

Other ideas for potential projects quickly emerged:

• Youth Education: Emily Whittlesey stressed the importance of teaching children what to do during an emergency. Brawley called this a “dynamite mitigation project.”
• Emergency Power: Kim Sewell, Medical Advisory Committee chair, voiced concern about the inadequate EMS generator. Brawley noted that FEMA warehouses are “full of generators” and called emergency power “a great project to put in.”
• Identifying Vulnerable Residents: Shivers suggested a list of who is homebound. Brawley agreed, saying a “concerted effort to identify those who might need assistance” is crucial because people with special needs and the elderly are “disproportionately affected” in disasters like wildfires and “wait too long.”
• Early Warning System: Dale Kersey noted the town has “no early warning awareness here. There’s nothing that tells anybody to go see what’s going on.” He suggested installing a siren on the county building that the whole county could hear. Brawley said, “I love that as a project,” having done something similar before.

Ranking risks and roadblocks

Attendees then went on to rank their biggest hazard concerns. Infrastructure and transportation were key pain points.

Rowley noted that winter storms and extreme cold pose a risk, asking, “How many times are you guys without power?” Rowley also worried about evacuation on Route 306, which Dale Kersey described as often getting “hammered with snow.” Kersey recounted a time years ago when he was threatened with arrest for trying to clear the road himself to make it safe for others — a policy Rowley noted the state is now reconsidering.

Melinda Sharkozy pointed out that the age of infrastructure is “a big problem here.”

The group also discussed technological hazards. In addition to concerns about broken windshields and speeding ore trucks, Sharkozy recalled a cyanide spill near Maggie Creek seven years ago that was narrowly contained. Deputy Hoggard recalled a separate incident on I-80 where acid tankers crashed.

The specter of fire loomed large, with Jeremy Rice noting that structure fires are a worry “Every day: day in and day out,” citing construction standards that sometimes create unsafe buildings.

Newer threats were also on the table, including EV battery fires, which Brawley noted have shut down I-80 multiple times. Sharkozy pointed out the mine has EV trucks traveling through the valley daily, and Deputy Hoggard recalled multiple incidents in the county with semi-trucks transporting new cars catching fire.

The work continues

After close to two hours of gathering input on hazards — from drought and extreme heat to cyberattacks and active shooter events — the community’s concerns were documented. This vital information will be incorporated into the Hazard Mitigation Plan, paving the way for future safety improvements.

With the workshop complete, the board resumed its regular meeting. Sheriff Umina and Undersheriff Cobb provided an update on the potential reopening of the Eureka jail. Fire Chief Jeremy Rice reported that he and others were attending upcoming HAZMAT training, noting “everything is going well.”

The board turned its attention to non-emergency projects for the 2026 Fiscal Year Budget, including a solar digital “welcome” sign. They discussed where to place new stop signs in the one-square-mile town. Dale Kersey volunteered to donate a needed storage trailer.

Vice Chair Jeremy Rice and secretary Christina Tucker will do measurements for the town park for the new setup which will include workout equipment and a walking path, with all the old rubber in the play area set to be removed. “All that rubber needs to come out of the playground,” Rice said, promising, “You’ll love it.”

Secretary Tucker was pleased to announce that the community center had been rented and paid for six times this year. “For me, that’s a big deal,” she said, excited to see “people using our facilities and not just giving everything away.” Tucker concluded, “We’re finally using something that’s been sitting here dormant since they put it in.”

The commitment to both planning for the worst and building for the best showed a Crescent Valley focused on resilience and growth.