About 300 military and civilian personnel are expected to take part in a large-scale earthquake-response exercise Tuesday through Thursday.
National Guard members from Utah and five other states, as well as several other first-responder agencies, will take part in a scenario that simulates the aftermath of an earthquake somewhere in Weber County, the Guard said in a press release.
Once the test begins, out-of-state participants will be expected to relocate to Utah while also providing various levels of support from within their states. As part of the scenario, Utah's Capitol building will become a joint information center staffed with military and civilian spokesmen to serve as a single source of information for the media and public.
The exercise is intended to test the Guard's ability to work with and support civilian authorities in response to a natural disaster or civil emergency along the Wasatch Front.
Earlier this month, a similar exercise called "Readiness Frontiers 2006" took place at Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort. Members of about 90 Air National Guard medical units from around the country responded to a scenario that included an earthquake and a chain reaction of other emergencies.