Buehner: Emergency Management Group plays large role in Seafair’s marquee events

Seattle’s Summer Festival – Seafair – is underway and reaches the hydroplane finish line this weekend. Hundreds of volunteers support Seafair starting with the Fourth of July Fireworks at Lake Union, assisting with tickets, medical, public safety and other activities.

But behind the scenes is a group of volunteers called Emergency Management Group – Washington or EMG-WA. This group of professional and highly experienced volunteers provides a full range of emergency management services including coordination with public agencies like law enforcement, fire, medical, and emergency management organizations, all focused on safety and security for Seafair.

EMG-WA also provides these services for other special events such as Special Olympics – Washington.

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I serve as the EMG-WA meteorologist, providing current and forecast weather information to all involved safety and security support personnel. During the final days of Seafair, I also brief the air show participants including the Blue Angels and other partner agencies like the FAA on expected weather conditions up to 15,000 feet in altitude each day.

Weather conditions like low clouds, rain, excessive heat and poor air quality from wildfire smoke can have adverse impacts on the festivities. For example, if winds from the south are strong enough, aircraft from SeaTac Airport needing to fly into the wind would have to approach the airport from the north, ending the temporary flight restrictions that support the air show and cancelling the air show for the day. Other precautions are put into action for those days with hot temperatures, strong winds, thunderstorms or rain as well.

The Emergency Management Group – Washington uses what is called the Incident Command System or ICS to manage each event. Internal groups like logistics, communications, command, planning, and finance/administration are implemented within EMG-WA.

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Communications is a key component using amateur radio volunteers and radio equipment to be able to share information from various supported locations. For instance, radio equipment at Genesee Park supports the hydro races and air show action, along with medical, first responders and more, all shared with the EMG-WA Emergency Operations Center located at the Boeing Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

At the recent Seafair Triathlon at Seward Park, EMG-WA support resulted in coordinating with Seattle Traffic Police and professional medical volunteers to help keep the cyclists, runners and swimmers safe. Medical volunteers helped those with any injuries.

These are the actions of Emergency Management Group – Washington, and all the other agency staff and volunteers that help make Seafair and other outdoor special events safer and more secure.

Ted Buehner is the KIRO Newsradio meteorologist. You can read more of Ted’s stories here and follow him on X.