{"id":28142,"date":"2026-04-20T11:17:05","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T15:17:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mdem\/?p=28142"},"modified":"2026-04-20T11:19:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T15:19:11","slug":"public-advisory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mdem\/2026\/04\/20\/public-advisory\/","title":{"rendered":"Public Advisory"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>WHAT:<\/strong> Regional Search &amp; Rescue Exercise (SAREX). This is only an exercise.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>This full scale training exercise will span a 20 square mile area and include coordinated operations by responders and observers in aircraft, on the ground, and on the water\u2014including divers operating underwater.<\/li>\n<li>Props and simulated structures will be placed throughout the area in the days leading up to the exercise. These may appear realistic but they will be clearly marked. <strong>Please do not tamper with or disturb these items for your safety and the safety of responders.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Residents and visitors should expect an increased presence of emergency personnel, Maryland National Guard aircraft, emergency vehicles, law enforcement, and rescue boats throughout the exercise area.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Gunpowder Falls State Park and Loch Raven Dam recreational areas will remain open during this training event.<\/strong> Members of the public may observe activity from a safe distance but should not interfere with operations<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>WHERE:<\/strong> Loch Raven Dam Reservoir, Big Gunpowder Falls, Gunpowder River, Gunpowder Falls State Park, and Hart Miller Island.<\/p>\n<p><strong>WHEN:<\/strong> 7:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., Thursday, April 23, 2026.<\/p>\n<p><strong>THE PUBLIC IS ADVISED TO:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Recognize that this is only an exercise.<\/strong> Some scenarios, props, and responder actions may appear realistic.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Do not fly drones<\/strong> in or near the exercise area. Unauthorized drone activity poses a safety risk and may disrupt operations.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Use caution in recreational areas, especially near the Hammerman Beach area<\/strong> and surrounding waterways, where active training will occur.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Follow all directions from exercise personnel<\/strong>, who will be clearly identified by safety or exercise vests.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Do not approach or interfere<\/strong> with responders, equipment, or active training scenarios.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>WHO:<\/strong> Emergency responders from around the state will be gathering at Gunpowder Falls State Park for an immersive training experience that will test their skills, training and endurance as they work together to respond to complex incidents in a simulated real-world training environment.<\/p>\n<p>To learn more about this event, please visit this link to view a short overview: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5FKqw6yaabo\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5FKqw6yaabo<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">###<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">CONTACT:<br \/>\nJim Abels, james.abels@maryland.gov, 667-446-0346<br \/>\nEmily Ritter, emily.ritter@maryland.gov, 667-446-0345<br \/>\n24\/7 line: 877-636-2872<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WHAT: Regional Search &amp; Rescue Exercise (SAREX). This is only an exercise. This full scale training exercise will span a 20 square mile area and include coordinated operations by responders and observers in aircraft, on the ground, and on the water\u2014including divers operating underwater. Props and simulated structures will be placed throughout the area in<a href=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mdem\/2026\/04\/20\/public-advisory\/\">&nbsp;&nbsp;Read the Rest&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":274,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mdem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mdem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mdem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mdem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/274"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mdem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28142"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mdem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28148,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mdem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28142\/revisions\/28148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mdem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mdem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mdem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}