Workers shore up Fish Springs Road on March 15, 2023 after Pine Nut Creek took a bite out of it during a March 10 storm that resulted in widespread flooding and a local state of emergency.
Photo by Kurt Hildebrand.
A new emergency manager has been named to take over the role that has been conducted by the East Fork Fire Protection District since 2008.
Las Vegan Kara Easton has been hired as Douglas County’s new emergency management director, leading a department created after county commissioners decided in October not to renew their contract with the fire district.
Easton will take over emergency management from East Fork Chief Tod Carlini effective July 1.
She served as emergency management specialist for the City of Las Vegas since 2016.
“I am very excited to have been selected for the position of Emergency Management Director,” said Easton. “As a native Nevadan, this position will allow me to continue serving a great community in this state and I look forward to establishing new relationships with the Douglas County community while utilizing my experience and knowledge in emergency operations training.”
Since 2016, she has been the emergency management specialist for the City of Las Vegas. According to the county, Easton has worked in the Incident Command System training, collaboration with stakeholders and city personnel and is a state-certified lead instructor. She has experience writing emergency operation plans, assistance with tabletop exercise planning, and she served as the City’s Logistics’ Section Chief in the Emergency Operations response.
Lyon and Storey counties have also created new emergency management positions, creating new stand-alone positions in three out of the four quad counties in the region.
“We are thrilled to be bringing Kara Easton on board and we believe she has the skill set and experience to work collaboratively with East Fork through the transition while building on the existing emergency management program and leading the way for the future,” said County Manager Patrick Cates. “We can’t stress enough how much we thank East Fork for their dedication, years of service, and institutional knowledge. We see this new role as a support function to our public safety partners designed to be solely dedicated to the emergency management function. It is our goal to keep the relationship with East Fork sound as we will continue to actively all work together to protect this community.”
Cates told commissioners during budget hearings last week that the cost of hiring Easton and a director will not exceed the $200,000 a year the county has paid East Fork. Commissioners approved purchasing a vehicle as part of the budget. A third person in the department will be shared with emergency communications.
Douglas is currently in a declared emergency due to flooding that has affected large swaths of the state. Emergency assessment teams are determining whether that damage rises to the level of a federal declaration.
