Avista Utilities
Crisis Plan
Laura Chapman, Andrea O’Neal, Domineke Rathbun, Cassandra Richardson
PR 313 Exercise 2
2/23/2009
Roles in the Crisis Plan
Scenario: Lightning has struck a wind turbine during a summer storm. When it struck, some blades
exploded, landing on the ground in various places between 100-300 yards away causing a small fire.
This fire has now spread across 50 acres and firefighters are working to put it out but it is expanding
rapidly toward a small farming community near Highway 82.
Laura is our internal contact
Cassandra is our external contact
Andrea is our media contact
Domineke is our support person
Crisis Plan Steps
1. Receive information about the situation from upper management.
2. Receive notifications the Selah Fire Department and the Yakima Fire Department.
3. Contact the media with all necessary details that we have so far on the status of the fire, the
cause of the fire and the predicted path and actions from the fire department. We will also hold
a press conference.
4. Notify all employees and inform them not to speak on the situation, refer to Cassandra for all
questions.
5. Contact Wilson Middle School in Yakima to set up an evacuation site.
6. Notify the Red Cross and ask for aid with any injuries or any supplies they can provide.
7. Set up a hotline where people can get constantly updated information and the address of the
evacuation site.
8. Write a press release with all information of evacuation site, hotline number and any other vital
information. Send out to local newspapers and TV stations.
9. Contact lawyers with all information in case of a lawsuit against Avista.
10. Stay in contact with publics, fire departments and any other people involved and continually
update the media.
11. Create a plan with management and internal employees about how to prevent this from
happening in the future.
12. Write a press release stating our apologies, what our action plan is for the victims and what
preventative measures we are taking.
Primary Publics and Communication Methods
Our primary publics are the residents and businesses that are near the fire and along Highway 82.
Another primary public is Avista Corp. customers whose electricity is supplied from energy
produced at Tribal Winds. We will communicate with them through radio and television
medias.
We will use company e-mail to communicate with employees.
We will use telephone to communicate with the fire departments and the Washington State
Department of Transportation.
We will communicate with our lawyers by phone.
We will contact the media through press releases and phone.
We will contact Red Cross by phone.
We will contact Wilson Middle School also by phone.
Media Q & A
Q. Who reported the lightening strike?
A. A local farmer noticed the fire caused by the lightening strike to the wind turbine and
called 911. The farmer said lightening struck the turbine, which caused the blade to
explode and scatter debris several hundred feet.
Q. How long did it take fire crews to respond?
A. Both fire crews from Yakima and Selah arrived at the scene 6 minutes after they
received the first call.
Q. How quickly did the fire spread?
A. Currently the fire has spread across 50 acres and is still spreading rapidly.
Q. How many homes are affected?
A. The fire has damaged three homes. The families living in these homes were able to
evacuate and are safe. Some lost valuables.
Q. Are more homes in danger of the fire?
A. The Yakima Fire Department has issued an evacuation order for residents living
within a 5 miles radius of the Yakima wind farm.
Q. How common is this situation?
A. All wind turbines have a grounding system built in them to help prevent this
situation. Summer lightening storms are unpredictable, though, so it is hard to know
for sure.
Q. How many people have been injured? Fatalities?
A. No injuries or fatalities have been reported.
Q. What is Avista Corp. doing in response to this crisis?
A. Lightening storms are a natural disaster in which Avista has no ability to control.
After taking care of the current crisis, Avista Corp. plans to re-check all of the
grounding systems within the turbines to make sure they are working properly.
Q. How long is Highway 82 going to be closed?
A. WSDOT and fire crews have shut down Highway 82 due to unsafe driving conditions.
The length of time the highway will be shut down is yet to be determined.
Q. What is being done to help members of the community?
A. Wilson Middle School’s gym has been turned into an evacuation site. Evacuated
residents can go there to receive food and shelter until further notification.
Wilson Middle School
902 S 44th Ave
Yakima, WA 98908
Andrea O’Neal
Avista Utilities
1411 E. Mission Ave.
Spokane, WA 99252
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AVISTA UTILITIES WORKING TO HELP COMMUNITY AFTER LIGHTENING STRIKES TURBINE AND STARTS
WILDFIRE
Spokane, Wash. - Avista Utilities is working to help the Yakima and Selah communities after a summer
storm where lightening struck a wind turbine and ignited a fire.
Authorities are recommending that all residents that live within a five-mile radius of the fire
evacuate as a safety precaution. The fire has damaged three homes and continues to spread.
Residents whose homes have been destroyed by the fire and evacuees are being relocated to
Wilson Middle School, 902 S. 44th Ave., Yakima, WA. Avista Corp. and the American Red Cross will supply
food, water and blankets.
All Avista Corp. wind turbines are grounded when they are built. Avista Corp. will investigate the
situation further once the fire is extinguished to try to determine what went wrong.
For more information visit www.avistautilities.com or call 509-334-9853.
###
Customer Service Phone Script
Add additional option for customer phone service with the title “If you have questions about the current
fire situation press __”
Possible questions:
Q: How far has the fire spread?
A: 50 acres (keep operators updated)
Q: How do I know if I need to evacuate?
A: If you are within a 5-mile radius of the fire, authorities strongly recommend that you evacuate.
Q: How necessary is it to evacuate?
A: Firefighters are working to put out the fire but we strongly recommended that you follow the
precautions for your own safety.
Q: Where do I evacuate to?
A: Wilson Middle School 902 S. 44th Ave. in Yakima, WA
Q: How long will I have to evacuate for?
A: Until the authorities determine that it is safe for you to return to your home.
Q: How did the fire start?
A: A wind turbine was struck by lightning, a blade exploded and a small fire was ignited, spreading
rapidly in the dry grass.
Q: How come this wasn’t considered a problem before?
A: All of our turbines are grounded as a preventative measure. At this time we are unsure as to the exact
reason our turbine exploded.
Q: What will be provided for us at the evacuation site?
A: Red Cross will be providing food and bedding for everyone at the evacuation site.
Q: Who is working on putting out the fires?
A: The Yakima Fire Department and Selah Fire Department are working to put out the fire.
Roles in the Crisis Plan
Scenario: When Avista Corp. begins construction on the wind farm site, we find an Indian Burial
Ground. We halt construction and decide to move our construction to a nearby site. We are currently
negotiating contract terms for the adjustment.
Laura is our internal contact.
Cassandra is our external contact.
Andrea is our media contact.
Domineke is our support person.
Steps for Crisis Plan
1. Halt construction of project.
2. Upper management informs us of the situation.
3. Inform and discuss with local Native American tribes what we found.
4. Inform employees of the situation by e-mail and ask them to not speak to media but refer them
to Cassandra.
5. Inform public of situation by press release to print and news media.
6. Contact lawyers to decide how to deal with breaking contracts with farmers and writing new
contracts for new land.
7. Discuss terms of contract with farmers we had leased the land with.
8. Find new land to continue project on.
9. Create and announce a new timeline and budget for the project.
Communicating with Publics
We will communicate with our Avista Utilities customers by including a short letter with their next bill
stating the impact it will have on the project and measures being taken.
We will communicate with the Yakima Indian Reservation and farmers we leased land from by
telephone, e-mail and by speaking with them in person and showing them the site and what we found.
We will contact our lawyers by telephone.
We will contact our employees by company e-mail.
We will contact the media with a press release in print, via e-mail, to print and news media.
Media Q & A Burial Ground
Q. Where were the remains found?
A. The remains were found 13 miles west of Highway 82, just north of Selah.
Q. How were the remains found?
A. Excavation crews found the remains when breaking ground where the turbines were to be
installed.
Q. How many sets of remains were found?
A. At this point seven sets of remains have been found and the farmer has given the residents of
the Yakima Indian Reservation access to the site.
Q. Will the wind farm be relocated?
A. The wind farm will have to be relocated so as not to encompass the location of the burial
ground.
Q. Where will the new wind farm be located?
A. Avista Corp. is currently looking into new locations for the wind farm. Currently Avista Corp. is
foreseeing the location to be located in the same area excluding the land around the burial site.
Q. When will construction of the wind farm resume?
A. Construction of the wind farm will resume after we find out how much land the burial ground
covers and the area that the new land for the wind farm will encompass.
Q. Will Avista Utilities customers continue to pay the increased utility rate while the project is on
hold?
A. Yes, customers will continue to pay the increased utility rate so the project will still be paid off
in 10 years and rates can go back down.
Andrea O’Neal
Avista Utilites
1411 E. Mission Ave.
Spokane, WA 99252
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NATIVE AMERICAN REMAINS FOUND
Spokane, Wash.- Excavation crews found seven sets of remains in what appears to be an ancient Native
American burial when breaking ground for Avista Corp.’s new wind farm in Yakima county.
Crews have ceased construction on the site where the remains were found, and Avista Corp. is
working with the owner of the property to give members of the Yakima Indian Reservation access to the
property.
Avista Corp. is investigating options for relocating the wind farm. The company would like to
keep the wind farm in the same general area, but will wait until further decisions have been made
before announcing any possible locations.
Avista Utilities customer rates will not change. For more information about this incident and
Avista Corp.’s wind farm, visit www.avistautilities.com.
###
Customer Service Phone Script
We will add an additional option for customer phone service with the title, “If you have questions about
the status of the wind farm construction, please press __.”
Possible Questions:
Q: Where were the remains found?
A: The remains were found 13 miles west of Highway 82 just north of Selah.
Q: How did Avista Corp. find the remains?
A: While breaking ground for turbines, excavation crews found the remains.
Q: What did you find?
A: We found seven sets of remains.
Q: What will you be doing with the remains?
A: Avista Corp. is working with the owner of the property to give members of the Yakima Indian
Reservation access to the property for further analysis.
Q: What will you be doing about your current construction?
A: We already have crews working to find a new site so we can stay as close as possible to our predicted
completion.
Q: When will the construction resume?
A: As soon as we get a new site and adjust plans for construction.
Q: Will this affect our billing?
A: Customers will continue to pay the increased rate but this delay will not affect your rates.