In less than a week, Guthrie will be quadrupling its population for a few days as the North Central Oklahoma town will be the place to be when Grammy winning Mumford & Sons and their friends come sweeping down the plains. With that, security officials are also ready for the event.
The State Incident Management Team, who forms the Instant Command System (ICS) has held several meetings as they prepare for the expected crowds. In ticket sales alone, the Gentleman of The Road has sold nearly 30,000 tickets for their two-day event on Sept. 6 and 7. In addition to the concert, a three-day downtown festival, beginning on Thursday, will be ongoing at the same time.
The ICS, formed in the 70’s, is a command and control system that utilizes an Incident Commander who takes the lead in gathering and disseminating information to and from supervisors from other agencies and organizations, who in turn communicate with their personnel.
The ICS is credited for the successful recovery effort following the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in 1994.
With the idea of perhaps 40,000 guests in a town of 10,000, the ICS has their game plan set. The ICS team has formed with agencies from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Logan County Emergency Management, Logan County Sheriff’s Office, Guthrie Police Department and Guthrie Fire Department. Retired Oklahoma City Fire Chief John Hansen is helping to organize the team.
Police Chief Damon Devereaux said strike teams will be formed in both the festival and concert area, a patrol division and OHP will assist with interstate traffic. City Hall will be the command center as part of the complex system.
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