Priest River announces disaster declaration

PRIEST RIVER — Priest River officials have signed a declaration of local disaster emergency in response to the anticipated COVID-19 impact on the community.

Declarations of emergency are common tools employed by cities, counties and states in response to anticipated needs related to disasters or emergencies, Priest River Mayor Jim Martin said in a press release.

The city issued the official declaration today in the midst of continued response efforts to help the Priest River community as it deals with the effects of closures, quarantines and other impacts related to the nationwide COVID-19 health crisis, Martin said.

“A declaration of emergency is not a reflection on the state of readiness or ability to respond to everyday needs, it is just another way that we are being proactive to respond to this situation,” he said. “As we progress in our community response efforts, this is simply a tool to access funding and other resources that may be made available from state and federal levels that we wouldn’t normally have access to.”