Ready Together; Behind the scenes of Emergency Management on Kauaʻi
PACIFIC MISSILE RANGE FACILITY, Hawaii – When a crisis strikes the remote island of Kauaʻi, the ability to respond effectively often comes down to the community’s ability to work together. For Kelly Balmores, the Emergency Management Officer (EMO) at Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF), Barking Sands, the connections he’s developed with his peers and neighbors prove critical in an emergency.
Born and raised on the island’s south shore in Kōloa and a graduate of Kauaʻi High School, Balmores has spent the last 15 years serving PMRF and the community, developing emergency response procedures and promoting community readiness.
After a brief stint working in local restaurants, Balmores joined the U.S. Army. Serving as a 12 Bravo combat engineer, he deployed to Iraq in August 1990 in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Following his military service, he transitioned to civilian law enforcement and later spent ten years with the Department of Energy (DOE).
"That's where I got into emergency response and Incident Command Systems (ICS)," Balmores said, noting he was primarily the "boots on the ground" for DOE operations.
Balmores brought that expertise back to Kauaʻ i in 2011, initially serving as PMRF’s Installation Training Officer. After dual-hatting for several years, he officially took lead as the installation's permanent EMO in 2018. His expertise is backed by the highly selective Navy Emergency Manager certification, a rigorous qualification requiring real-world incident experience, multiple years as an EMO and the completion of 50 specific duty tasks. He is one of roughly 40 personnel enterprise-wide to hold the designation. For Balmores, successful emergency management hinges on community integration and proactive coordination.
"There's a saying out there... when an incident is occurring, that's not the time to be trading business cards," Balmores explained. Growing up on Kauaʻi gave him a unique advantage; many of PMRF’s key partners in emergency management are people that Balmores knew growing up or even went to school with. "Establishing those relationships before an emergency is important."
These lifelong relationships have proven critical during real-world crises where PMRF and the county share limited resources. During the severe 2018 rain events and landslides on the North Shore, Balmores coordinated with the county to use U.S. Navy landing craft to shuttle ambulances, bulldozers, food, and water to cut-off residents.
Similarly, during the Kaumakani fires, PMRF’s unique military resources played a pivotal role in assisting local first responders. "We brought out military aircraft with larger buckets into play, which really controlled the fire, whereas the community’s buckets were smaller," Balmores noted. "They started to get the fire under control because of a resource we were able to share to keep the community safe.”
Balmores acts as a liaison officer for the Kauaʻi Emergency Management Agency (KEMA), teaches Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) courses to local agencies, and sits as a voting member on the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC). Currently, the LEPC is tackling complex island-wide challenges, such as the safe disposal of toxic electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
Whether he is planning for future hazards or responding to an immediate threat, Balmores remains motivated by a desire to help his community.
<br> "Because we're such a small island and such a small base, whether an incident involves the county, state, or PMRF, we're partners," Balmores said.
September is National Preparedness Month and with the recent storms brewing in the Pacific it is more crucial than ever to make sure your family is prepared for an emergency. Planning, putting together a go-kit, and talking with your family about what to expect are important first steps toward personal readiness. Visithttp://ready.gov for more preparedness information.
PMRF is the world's largest instrumented multi-domain range, capable of supporting surface, subsurface, air, and space operations simultaneously. Through dedicated emergency management, interagency drills, and robust mutual aid partnerships, PMRF ensures mission readiness and the safety of its military and civilian workforce, and the broader community.
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