Church and VOAD outline countywide volunteer emergency response, cite Ether Hollow planning

Representatives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‑day Saints and Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) told the Utah County Commission on June 23 that faith‑based groups and nonprofits can supply facilities, equipment and volunteers for both pre‑ and post‑disaster response.

Kevin Lohse, a welfare and self‑reliance services manager for the church, described managers’ roles in assessing needs, facilitating access to church buildings for evacuations and coordinating supplies such as generators and tarps. Carrie Malkovich, representing LDS Charities on the state VOAD board, described VOAD as a statewide coordinating network with nearly 300 partners and said VOAD’s role is to avoid redundancy, match needs to capabilities and coordinate mass‑care and recovery efforts.

Presenters cited a recent local example: the Ether Hollow risk near Mapleton. Stephanie Ashcraft and Randall Call described work with local fire chiefs, civil engineers, sandbagging events (one scheduled for July 17), an evacuation center arranged with the Red Cross, practice evacuations and Everbridge signups to notify residents. Ashcraft summarized the risk as a high‑probability localized slide, saying there was "an 80 to a 100% chance one portion of that might give." Randall Call said the church had coordinated sandbagging events, evacuation drills and communication channels with city emergency managers.

VOAD members emphasized that their organizations take primary direction from civil authorities during emergencies but can supplement capacity for mass sheltering, feeding, reunification and recovery tasks. Commissioners suggested follow‑up work sessions to explore how VOAD and interfaith partners could assist with chronic community issues that also present emergency features, such as homelessness and opioid‑related mental health needs.

Presenters asked county staff to refer local managers to VOAD contacts and to include faith‑based partners in outreach and preparedness planning.