COVID-19 recovery may take years; Phillips County activates ESF 14

When Phillips County Office of Emergency Management is faced with an emergency and activates the Emergency Operations Center, there are a number of emergency support functions that can be activated to support response activities.

Phillips County’s emergency manager Bob Heldenbrand activated the EOC at noon on March 11, and it has remained active since. Several ESFs have also been activated, including ESF 14 for long-term recovery.

Just this week, the state EOC began encouraging communities to start their recovery processes, Heldenbrand said, so Phillips County is ahead of the game as ESF 14 has been activated for several weeks now.

The long-term recovery team is led by Trisha Herman, director of Phillips County Economic Development. She is joined by chamber directors Holly Ferguson of Holyoke and Jenny Oberle-Molina of Haxtun. The team also has representatives from Phillips County Board of Commissioners, City of Holyoke, Town of Haxtun and Eastern Colorado Community Fund.

Folks are already being warned that getting through the coronavirus pandemic itself  will be a long process, and Heldenbrand pointed out that recovery will take even longer. Government agencies, businesses, organizations and residents may be dealing with the fallout of COVID-19 for years to come.

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