Lincoln County emergency coordinator readies sandbags, volunteers and mayoral briefings ahead of expected flooding

Lincoln County’s Emergency Management Coordinator, Jay Hokanson, briefed the Board of Commissioners on April 4 about preparations for a potential flood and outlined steps the county is taking to mitigate risk and support municipalities.

Hokanson said he will meet next week with all the mayors in the county to coordinate responses, that sandbags would be provided and that volunteers were organized to fill them. He told the board he may overrun a budgeted line item to purchase additional supplies and said he would change how sandbags had been distributed in the past to improve organization. Hokanson also discussed the possibility of deploying the guard if conditions require it.

County Engineer Amy Butler cautioned about bridge vulnerability in flood conditions, noting the state conducts bridge inspections and that the county has numerous bridges with "unknown foundations;" she flagged that TL3 bridge railing specifications are a WYDOT standard for any bridge-related work.

The Commissioners acknowledged the operational plan and logistics; no formal actions or emergency declarations were recorded in the transcript. The board recessed for lunch and planned to continue routine business after the break.