assistance it could get. It was a small commu-
nity with no established urban and commu-
nity forestry program or storm response plan.
Naplate was a new IPWMAN member that
was able to take advantage of the Network's
resources in the wake of the tornado.
After initial consultation with Naplate's then-
mayor James Rick, IPWMAN quickly went into
action. They divided Naplate into three zones
based on level of damage and established
communication with agencies already on the
scene, some IPWMAN members, others not.
IPWMAN took over incident command and
informed Naplate officials as to how the oper-
ation would be conducted moving forward.
Considerations included the need for a staging
area, fuel for IPWMAN vehicles, a communica-
tions plan, and accountability.6 IPWMAN helped
Naplate staff organize and establish debris
removal protocol before actively removing the
debris from the streets. IPWMAN provided assis-
tance from 22 different agencies from across
the State for post-tornado debris removal, at a
value of $350,000 USD ($460,008 CAD) in aid.
2
Recovery from Ottawa/Naplate Incident. After
the major debris was removed from both com-
munities, IDNR deployed its first state-adminis-
tered Urban Forest Strike Team in partnership
with Trees Forever. (This was also be the first
state-initiated deployment of the Strike Team in
the northeast U.S.) The goal of the deployment
was to look for hidden defects and reduce risk.
The ten-member Strike Team spent three days
in Ottawa and a day-and-a-half in Naplate.
The team produced a report of evaluated trees
by house address. In addition, photos of the tree
damage were provided to assist with field work
assignments. Ottawa Mayor Robert Eschbach
said, "The 'Report of Findings' with its tree risk
ratings, types of trees, field guides, and a very
detailed map … has given our staff valuable
insight into the depth of the problem left by the
tornado. Because of IDNR's efforts, Trees Forever
is now engaging with Ottawa to update our
southside tree inventory and plant new trees."
Ottawa Public Works Director Gary Scott said,
"The Urban Forest Strike Team was very ben-
eficial for looking at the future needs of our
urban forest tree canopy in the tornado zone."
Trees Forever took the lead in conducting a
tree inventory and planting trees with grant
funds made available in both communities.
References
1
APWA
2
IPWMAN
3
Gary Scott, Ottawa Public Works Director
4
Mark Doerfler, Secretary of the IPWMAN
5
Ottawa Tornado Incident Report –
After-Incident Evaluation report
6
Naplate/Ottawa Tornado Hot Wash report
24 CityTREES
