First responders are at the Idaho State Police campus in Meridian educating each other.
About 20 agencies from the Treasure Valley, Magic Valley and eastern Oregon are brushing up on their skills and getting familiar with the resources available throughout the region.
"There's no agency here that can handle certain instances all by themselves, so it's good to know what kind of assets are available and share those resources," ISP Captain Kevin Haight said.
Helicopters, drones and a portable cell tower were some of the tools on display. Responders say they never know what they might need when responding to emergencies in Idaho's varying terrain.
"Bringing people in from eastern Oregon was great because they had worked together with the floodings of last year over in Weiser," Idaho Military Division technical coordinator Robert Hugi said. "I think everybody remembers seeing the helicopter pulling somebody out of the river, and it's those kind of events that we want to make sure that the communications are successful so that we can get to those people."
Without knowing when the next tragedy will strike, trainings like Tuesday's keep the teams on their toes and ready to respond.
"When those moments do occur, we're not learning then how to do it," Haight said. "We're responding and deploying because we know how to do it. We've exercised this stuff."
