POSTED: Aug. 18, 2022
Clatsop County welcomes Justin Gibbs as its Emergency Management Director.
Gibbs brings more than 14 years in emergency management and public administration to the position. A native of North Carolina, he graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Master’s Level Certificate in Community Preparedness and Disaster Management.
“Having been born and raised on the coast of North Carolina, I very much feel at home,” Gibbs said. “I look forward to learning, growing and becoming a member of the community and serving its members with integrity.”
Gibbs’ background includes more than 13 years with Hyde County, North Carolina, where he served as 9-1-1 database administrator before being selected as emergency services director. His tenure included response to multiple hurricanes, storms and wildfires, as well as an assignment to Puerto Rico as a planning section chief for the Hurricane Maria response in 2017.
Prior to joining Clatsop County Gibbs served with Multnomah County for two years, most recently as Interim Division Chief of Planning with the county’s Emergency Management Planning Section.
“My focus will be to develop strong relationships with the cities to ensure they are supported across all phases of Emergency Management, as well as concurrently making sure that Clatsop County is operationally ready to respond to disasters that will inevitably impact unincorporated areas of the jurisdiction,” he said.
Gibbs’s arrival comes as the county has elevated Emergency Management to a department-level office within the county organization, in recognition of the vital role it plays not only in disaster planning and response but in ongoing challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under Emergency Manager Tiffany Brown, the office partnered with the county Public Health Department, hospitals and other entities in organizing the mass vaccination clinics last year.
Emergency Management also has served as a conduit for personal protective equipment (PPE) and other pandemic-related supplies delivered from the state and distributed to local emergency responder agencies and other groups.
Located at Camp Rilea, Emergency Management maintains responsibility for a breadth of planning efforts, facilitation of various appointed and volunteer committees, all-hazards public outreach and education, grant management and operating the County Emergency Operations Center at Rilea’s Warrior Hall.
The department partners with other county offices as well as local cities, fire districts and Medix ambulance service, community groups, schools, water districts and state and federal agencies on emergency training, preparedness and response.
It coordinates amateur radio operator, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and other volunteer organizations, and manages the county’s ClatsopAlerts communications system.