You file them. You trust your preparation. You keep moving. 231 in the afternoon. Rachel said, "I have contact with county emergency services.
They're aware of the situation. Primary road access is compromised, but they have an alternate route assessment underway. Estimated response window is 3 to four hours. 3 to four hours. Rebecca looked at the facility population count on the board beside the map.
193 participants, 17 Iron Ridge staff, four event contractors, 214 people total on a site with compromised power, a collapsed primary access road, and a weather system that was currently at peak intensity and would remain there for another 2 to 3 hours before beginning to moderate. The math was straightforward. 3 to 4 hours until external assistance. two to three hours until conditions improved enough to make that assistance fully effective. 100% of the people on this site needed to be accounted for warm, medically stable, and able to move under their own power or with assistance before that window opened. She looked at the inventory list.
Emergency lighting adequate for the main structures. Heating two propane units in the main sufficient for the current occupancy. Water good. medical doc had what he needed for the injuries already presenting. Food not out a current priority but would become one if the timeline extended. The power situation was the variable he kept returning to.
The primary generator had failed. The backup fuel component failure that he had flagged in his audit that had been corrected before the event. She had confirmed the replacement work order was completed. She had not verified the replacement physically. She should have verified it physically.
Rachel, he said, "Yeah, the backup generator, the fuel component replacement. Do you have the contractor sign off? " Rachel reached for the event documentation folder without breaking her radio rhythm. She flipped through it with one hand, found the page. She held it up without looking away from her radio equipment. Rebecca crossed to her and read it.
The work order was dated, signed. The replacement was documented as completed, but the component part number listed on the work order was the same part number as the original incorrect component. Rebecca stared at the paper for 3 seconds. The replacement had been completed. The wrong component had been replaced with an identical wrong component.
She set the paper down. She walked to the door, opened it, looked at the rain, and said nothing for a moment. Then he closed the door, walked back to the map and began working the problem from a different angle. 2:47 in the afternoon. Doc Riley came through the door.
Mobility assessment, he said. He put a handwritten page on the table beside the map. 189 mobile under own power. 25 mobile with support. Three that need carry assist if we move.
Nobody critical yet. Anderson has a prior cardiac history and I want to watch him. Stress plus cold is not what I'd prescribe. Rebecca looked at the page, then at Doc. How's Anderson managing it?
She's stable. She's been stable for 40 minutes. She's also 64 and she's been in worse situations than this, which is helping her emotionally, and is doing absolutely nothing for her coronary arteries. Can he stay warm where he is? If we keep the propane units running and he stays off his feet, yes.
Then he stays put. Agreed. Doc started to leave then stopped. Rebecca. Rebecca looked at her.
Doc Riley had a particular way of looking at Rebecca that was different from how anyone else at Iron Ridge looked at him. It was the look of a woman who knew the version of Rebecca that existed before Sophie and before Emily's accident and before the decision to stop, who had been present for the operational history that Iron Ridge only glimpsed in fragments. The look contained something complicated. Pride maybe concerned definitely. You doing okay with this?
Doc said. The question was small. The weight behind it was not. I'm fine. Rebecca said that's not what I asked.
A pause. I'm doing what needs doing, Rebecca said. That's enough. Doc nodded once. He understood the distinction.
He left. 2:53 in the afternoon. Derek's first radio check-in came in at exactly 15 minutes. Operations: This is the South team. We are at the staging point.
All nine personnel accounted for. Loading now. Morris's ankle is worse. He's going to need a carry assist for the return. Requesting confirmation on route.
Rachel looked at Rebecca. Confirm north return route. Rebecca said, "Avoid the creek crossing by the oak stand. Water level has come up. Add 40 m west of your current bearing and you'll have cleaner ground.
Rachel relayed it. Derek's acknowledgement came back clean and immediate. Rebecca put a small mark on the map indicating Derek's position and returned to the power situation. She had been turning it over since she found the wrong component on the work order. The backup generator was effectively non-functional for sustained operation.