Emergency manager certified nationally
Staff writer
In the 17 months since Marcy Hostetler was hired as emergency manager, she’s learned a lot — but circumstances made her hit the ground running.
Hostetler was on the job two weeks when the COVID-19 pandemic was declared a disaster. Her emergency management duties became disaster management duties in that short of a time.
The disaster wasn’t over until May, 2022.
The 2,300-acre Middle Creek wildfire Oct. 23, 2022, and the 1,600-acre Doyle Creek wildfire Dec. 1, 2022, taught her lessons in another side of emergency management.
The Middle Creek fire was on Kansas Forest Service’s radar, and Hostetler called for an air drop to fight the fire. A tanker plane dropped water on the fire, fighting it from the air.
Another thing she’s learned along the way is county residents’ goodness and willingness to help.
“The biggest thing that is impressive to me is the community we’re in,” Hostetler said.
When power failures or severe winter weather strikes, she opens shelters for people to be safe.
But no one has ever shown up because neighbors and county residents take them in.
“People want to help,” Hostetler said. “We had farmers who were like, ‘I saw them there, so I just picked them up.’ ”
She’s been told she’s overly optimistic, but she likes it if somebody needs help and residents step up.
She’ll still open emergency shelters, even if nobody ever uses one.
“Marion County does not have much in resources, but we have people who can help,” she said.
The same rule goes for weather watching. While Hostetler is at one location watching storms that may enter the county there, other county residents also are watching, texting, and sending her photos.
This month, Hostetler attended five days of classes and earned her Federal Emergency Management Agency National Emergency Management Basic Academy certification.