It is with great pride that I reveal the upcoming announcement that our Denton County Office of Emergency Management is receiving the 2025 Excellence in Emergency Management Award from the Emergency Management Association of Texas (EMAT) during an upcoming EMAT Leadership Symposium in College Station.
The Denton County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) was nominated by the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) Emergency Preparedness Director Maribel Martinez. In addition to our OEM team, the nomination included our Denton County Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD), the Denton County Long Term Recovery Committee, and United Way of Denton County.
In the nomination form, Director Martinez wrote: “Their coordination and response in the aftermath of two consecutive tornadic/severe weather systems and the coordination of first responders, volunteers, damage assessment, recovery efforts, and formation of the Long Term Recovery Committee were not only an exemplary example of what emergency management should be, but they have been open and willing to teach others of lessons learned and best practices to further improve our profession.”
Late in the evening on Saturday, May 25, 2024, five tornadoes ranging from EF-1 to EF-3 trailed through Montague, Cooke, Denton, Collin, Eastland and Hunt counties, causing several fatalities, a number of injuries and substantial damages in their wake. Several RV parks were destroyed, roofs torn from homes, a marina mangled, power lines downed across I-35, overturned 18 wheelers, and damaged businesses.
From 11 p.m. on May 25 to 5 a.m. on May 26, our Denton County Communications Center experienced a 139 percent surge of incoming radio traffic from field units and outgoing radio traffic from the Communications Center to field units.
Our Emergency Management team activated the EOC to handle response efforts and deployed our mobile command unit, Goliath, to assist with response in Cooke County and help patch communications between all the impacted jurisdictions. Deputies from our Denton County Sheriff’s Office and our Denton County Fire Marshal’s Office team checked homes, RV trailers, and mobile homes to help anyone needing assistance. Our Denton County Transportation and Engineering crews helped clear fallen trees from major roads. Throughout the county, first responders from Sanger, Flower Mound and Denton triaged and transported numerous individuals to area hospitals. Simply stated, Denton County came together in a time of need.
Then, a couple of days later, on Tuesday, May 28, we were hit again with another storm system bringing straight-line winds at 65-plus miles per hour and hail, causing more damage and widespread power outages, many caused by extensive downed trees.
Once again, Denton County responded, handling both short- and long-term recovery efforts. On June 5, a Disaster Resource Center was opened at Butterfield Elementary School in Sanger near Denton County victims, bringing under one roof area non-profit organizations, the Texas Department of Emergency Management, FEMA, Small Business Administration, and our VOAD teams. The resource center remained open through June 30 to support affected individuals. Records show a total of 295 damage reports were submitted to the TDEM individual State of Texas Assistance Tool (iSTAT).
The United Way of Denton County agreed to create a separate account to accept donations on behalf of the victims of both incidents. A total of $67,406.26 was collected. A Denton County Long Term Recovery Committee, consisting of United Way, Rotary International District 5790, Service Denton, Disaster Aid USA and Giving Grace, was created to review requests to address the needs for residents affected by the storms. Giving Grace handled case management for several residents, including providing eyeglasses to one family member who had lost everything in the storm. The committee also partnered with Frenchy’s Lawn and Tree Service to remove debris from five homes in Sanger where accumulated debris from the storms had become a potential fire hazard. With the remaining $50,000 in funds, the committee approved allocating it to households in Denton County whose homes were destroyed or severely damaged.
Throughout these incidents, our Denton County teams as well as non-profit organizations, first responders, local business owners as well as local, state and federal agencies came together in a time of disaster to serve people in need. That’s what we do in Denton County, and I am proud of everyone involved.
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