HANSVILLE — After being kept from their homes by sheriff’s deputies for almost seven hours because of a collision on Hansville Road, some residents of the greater Hansville community wanted answers: What happened, why did it take so long to let traffic through, and how are officials going to do things differently if it happens again?

March 13, representatives from the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, North Kitsap Fire and Rescue, Puget Sound Energy and Kitsap County Emergency Management met with the Greater Hansville Area Advisory Council (GHAAC) to discuss what was referred to as the “perfect storm” of events.

“We’re asking how they can circumvent a disruption to our community like this going forward, what’s the plan, and why did it take so long,” said Linda Redling, GHAAC chairwoman.

According to Sheriff’s Lt. John Gese, a deputy sheriff was involved in a car crash on Hansville Road near Evening Star Lane the evening of Feb. 8 while responding to a shooting in Poulsbo. With  only minor injuries involved, the initial outlook suggested the crash scene would be clear for normal traffic in a short time, but there was a catch. When the deputy veered off the road, his car sheared a power pole, causing it to lean at a 45-degree angle over Hansville Road. This blocked road access for traffic.

Making matters worse, this particular one-and-a-half mile section of road between 288th Street and Little Boston Road does not have a detour route. The stretch is a chokepoint for travel and emergency access — estimated by the audience to impact more than 3,000 residents in the north end of the county.

The resulting complexity of managing the initial response, traffic control, restoring power and safely removing the pole during the evening hours — while other emergencies were occurring in the county at the same time — resulted in a six-and-a-half hour traffic backup to Bond Road and into the Albertsons parking lot. With some exceptions, including allowing for a fire truck and a private party transporting a child to the hospital to drive through, sheriff’s deputies kept the road closed out of concern for the safety of others if the power pole broke loose and fell.

“Allowing people to go past this scenario was not something I would like to see happen,” said Gary Simpson, chief of patrol operations for the Sheriff’s Office. “We cannot take the risk unless it is a real emergency.”

With the responsibility to identify safety concerns regarding the sheared power pole, representatives from Puget Sound Energy acknowledged their communication could have been better concerning work progress and completion time.

“Our goal is to make conditions safe, then make sure the power can come back on,” spokesperson Janet Kavran said. “We missed the part on dependable. We failed to communicate on when the road would be open. We are committed to improve our communications plan with public safety and the community.”

Bob Tulp, Puget Sound Energy’s first-response supervisor, added, “One of the things we all learned is we have to communicate to all these people in cars thinking that at any moment they might get through.”

During the officials’ presentation, several options were discussed to help manage future events having similar impact.

According to Puget Sound Energy, burying the power line along the stretch of road is possible and would prevent similar problems, but would cost about $1.5 million, according to Tulp.

County representatives at the meeting were not aware of any plans for a new road that could offer a detour, but there seemed a strong consensus in the room that there should be immediate consideration for this option in county planning.

Phyllis Mann, director of the Kitsap County Emergency Management Division, offered an immediate solution for improved communication during an emergency event. Mann suggested a more active use of the county’s alert and warning program, which uses Pier Systems emergency notification system. The program allows for mass communication of events to subscribers based on zip code, sending email and text to multiple phones, including cell phones. Mann also encouraged the use of social media such as Twitter and Facebook to share information.

According to Mann, a review of the incident has already resulted in a decision to include the required notification of an emergency management duty officer in standard operating procedures so the alert system might be quickly activated.

Residents can learn more about the county alert warning and public information program by contacting the Kitsap County Department of Emergency Management or going to www.kitsapdem.org to subscribe.

Mann assured residents that during more significant emergencies like earthquakes, other methodologies including the use of heavy equipment could be used to clear traffic routes.

This sentiment was strongly echoed by Chief Dan Smith of North Kitsap Fire & Rescue.

“We will handle emergencies,” Smith said. “If we need to get through, we will weigh the risk benefit. Public service takes this very seriously.”

After the presentation by public officials, attendees reported an appreciation for the thorough answers and detail.

“I felt the description and details were well set out and through discussion I feel the different community and response groups will work out the communication issues satisfactorily,” said Jackie Holbrook of Eglon.

“It was the perfect storm,” Hansville’s Jo Nelson said. “In life, stuff happens. They did the best they could do under the circumstances.”

Redling was also positive about the outcome and acknowledged that she learned something new about the alert notification system.

“But we want them to follow through with talking to the county commissioners and stress the point about what must be done up here,” Redling said, referring to alternative routes for traffic.