When disaster strikes, the Disaster and Emergency Services division mobilizes quickly and effectively, helping our communities respond and recover from wildfires, floods, severe storms hazardous material spills and other incidents. This often means standing up an incident management team, which consists of highly trained professionals from multiple agencies that use the incident command system (a standardized command and control structure) to respond to emergencies and disasters. IMTs help ensure residents have information and resources they need when a disaster has impacted them.  

The Disaster and Emergency Services Division manages plans and programs related to preparing for, responding to and recovering from area disasters, such as flooding and wildfires. 

To learn about the overarching strategies the County and other agencies employ when responding to disasters, take a look at the Emergency Operations Plan. This plan, which the County and City of Missoula adopted in 2011, establishes the organizational, legal and policy framework the two local governments use to handle disasters and emergencies. It does not give specific operational instructions for any particular event. Those kinds of decisions are left for commanders and other officials to make in light of conditions during an incident. Rather than telling commanders and officials what decisions they must make, the Emergency Operations Plan establishes the environment in which to make those decisions. 

DES doesn’t only respond to disasters; staff also actively help the County and its residents prepare for and mitigate potential disasters. This includes updating and maintaining the local Pre-Disaster Mitigation Plan to better help the County and its residents prepare for and mitigate potential disasters. This and the other plans DES keeps in tip-top shape are below.  

Disaster Planning Committee

State law mandates counties provide interjurisdictional disaster and emergency plans and programs. In Missoula County, the Disaster Planning Committee oversees plan development and includes the following members:  

• Sheriff 
• County Attorney 
• County Surveyor 
• MRFD Fire Chief 
• City Police Chief 
• City Fire Chief 
• City Attorney 
• City Public Works Director 
• City-County Health Department