7 - Issues and Crisis Management Washington State Department of Transportation I-90, US 2, and US 12 Mountain Pass Closures Winter 2008

The Situation Washington state experienced some of the most severe winter weather on record from October 2007 to April 2008 as storm after storm slammed into the region. A record December 2007 wind and rain storm caused a flood that closed I-5, the state’s main north-south economic corridor, for five days. That alone would have been memorable. But January and February 2008 saw storm after storm pound the state’s three east-west mountain passes. These extreme weather events dictated the use of the Headquarters’ Emergency Operations Center on three separate occasions, for a total of 21 days.

Heavy snowfall and extremely high avalanche danger closed all three of Washington’s main east-west mountain passes for many hours between January 26 and February 10: *Snoqualmie Pass closed 370 hours (typical winter 75 hours). *Stevens Pass closed 90 hours. *White Pass closed 57 hours. The tremendous snow accumulation in a very short period of time resulted in the highest level of avalanche danger and caused WSDOT avalanche forecasters to close the highways to keep drivers and maintenance workers safe. On February 9, 2008 total snowfall on the ground at Snoqualmie Pass was over 12 feet, the highest in 50 years, and the total snow accumulation for the season was 34.7 feet, the highest in 10 years. Total snow accumulation at Snoqualmie by March was nearly 49 feet 7 inches. US 2 Stevens Pass US 12 White Pass I-90 Snoqualmie Pass

Stevens Pass also had near record seasonal snowfall, with a total at the end of season of nearly 47 feet, the seventh highest on record. On White Pass, the state’s most rural east-west commercial route, more than 22 feet of snow fell in the 16 days between January 26 and February 10, 2008, with more than 6 feet falling in a 48-hour period. The situation was critical for WSDOT. Avalanche danger is hard to prove to a skeptical media and public not allowed into the mountains. The freight industry, legislators and the media needed to know that WSDOT was making decisions in the best interest of the public. Hundreds of semi-trucks and anxious travelers queued at either side of the mountain passes waiting for their chance to move. The detour into Oregon around all three passes added nearly 300 miles to an east-west trip. Experts claimed the state’s economy was losing $5.5 million each day the pass was closed. WSDOT communicators knew that without help, the story easily could turn to questions about the agency’s preparedness and overall capabilities.

We decided the best strategy was to show everyone what the crews on the passes faced on a daily basis – to take people there. We did that through traditional media tactics, but we also turned to a newer suite of tools to give the public the full story – blogs, YouTube.com, Flickr.com, listserv bulletins and iTunes. We worked the media around the clock, updating our web site, blogs and listserv bulletins as information changed. We tried to help people experience the storms from the comfort of their own computers. Because reporters couldn’t reach the passes, the media used clips we posted on YouTube and they used Flickr.com photos in their coverage.

Target audience We focused energy on three audiences – freight interests, legislative contacts and general market media. Typically media is a strategy or a tactic. In this case, it became an audience because the passes were closed and media could not access the area.

Measurable results The strategy worked. When the mountain passes reopened WSDOT’s credibility was high. WSDOT avalanche crews and snowplow drivers were seen as the critical public safety servants they are. At one hastily called news conference, a WSDOT regional administrator looked into the television cameras and said, “We’re doing everything we can right now. I’ll reopen the pass only when it’s safe for my family to drive on it.” That transparent, credible candor resonated with the media. E-mails from constituents thanked crews for the long hours and hard work. The freight community came to depend on the frequent updates that allowed truckers to re-route to Oregon. A post-event survey showed that 68% of truckers used the WSDOT Web site and 11 percent used highway advisory radios for closure information.

With rain and snow pummeling most of the state, our Web site topped 4.8 million views on Monday, Jan. 28. But the real story for us during this recent round of mountain pass closures was the public and media’s use of our newer social media tools. Flickr ( www. flickr . com/wsdot ), and YouTube ( www. youtube . com/wsdot ) were invaluable in telling the story of just how bad the situation was. E-mails from across our state, Idaho and Oregon let us know how useful these online tools were to drivers. KING 5 TV news (Seattle) even featured one of our YouTube videos showing the high wind damages on Stevens Pass. We received a lot of comments on the WSDOT blog stories ( www. wsdotblog . blogspot .com ) thanking us and complimenting us on a job well done. Flickr ( www. flickr . com/wsdot ): Feb. 8th: 23,600 views Feb. 9th: 23,900 views Feb. 10th: 43,300 views Feb. 11th: 48,053 views (new single-day record)

Blog ( www. wsdotblog . blogspot .com ): Jan 31, 7,930 views (all time high) Feb. 7th: 1,800 views Feb. 8th: 3,678 views Feb. 9th: 1,517 views Feb. 10th: 963 views Feb. 11th: 630 views YouTube ( www. youtube .com ): Stevens Pass high wind video: 3,989 views Stevens pass road clearing Avalanche control video topped 25,600 views by mid-February.

Total Web site Page Views: Feb. 7: 2.7 million Feb. 8: 3.2 million Feb. 9: 1.8 million Feb. 10: 1.2 million Feb. 11: 1.5 million It was a long, cold snowy winter full of avalanche danger and road closures but WSDOT communicators and maintenance crews worked the long hours to keep drivers informed and safe.