Steve Esser is new OEM director

After spending over two decades working for the state, Steve Esser decided he wanted a new challenge. He found it at the Custer County Courthouse.
Esser is the new Office of Emergency Management director for Custer County, having started March 3. His career in government work began in 1999 when he worked in Custer State Park for the Department of Game, Fish & Parks before joining S.D. Wildland Fire in 2007. When he left. he was serving as fire management officer for Hot Springs Fire District.
“I was at that point in my career with wildland fire where I was just ready for a change,” Esser said.
“And it’s a lot shorter commute to work,” he said with a laugh.
Esser brings a wealth of experience to the position, including in the incident command system used by emergency management. While working for SD Wildland Fire, he served as a Type III incident commander when needed.
Esser also brings local knowledge to the position. Esser and wife, Lisa, moved to Custer in 1986, which makes him thoroughly familiar with the area and its people.
Interagency work is another box Esser can check, as in his former position he worked with a variety of entities on incidents, including the Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and local entities including Custer County.
While he is experienced, he says there is still much to learn as he dives into his new position.
“What I did was different enough that I still have a lot to learn in this job,” he said.
Esser said his first week on the job went well, and was mostly spent familiarizing himself with county employees, office setup, catching up on files and reorganization. He had his first meeting with the state’s Office of Emergency Management regional coordinator, who briefed him on the requirements he will need to meet for the state, as well as upcoming trainings.
“It’s been a pretty good first week,” he said. “Relatively uneventful.”
Esser replaces Mike Carter, the longtime county emergency management director who abruptly retired after being put on leave shortly before Christmas. The commission then made it clear they want the emergency manager to be less hands-on than Carter was, which Esser said he will do.
“Some of the things don’t change. You have to respond to some things,” he said. “I think the commissioners wanted to find a little better balance there. It’s not that I won’t be going to an incident or never leave the office. It’s going to be a little bit different as to when I’m going and what I’m going to.”
Esser plans to take a “big picture approach” to running the office, giving an example of a recent situation where there were two fires burning in the county at the same time—one on Hazelrodt Cutoff and one on the eastern side of the county. Being too immersed in one of the incidents doesn’t allow for providing proper assistance on the other incident, he said.
“Being responsible for multiple incidents and being the only guy, you can’t get that tunnel vision onto one incident,” he said.
He admits ceding control as he became a type III commander was a struggle, as he describes himself as a “operational person,” which he had to combat as he went from not just being responsible for what’s happening on the ground, but the entire scope of the incident.
“Not only are you responsible for what’s going on on the ground, but the logistical end of things, planning end of things and financial end,” he said.
When he’s not working, Esser enjoys being outdoors, whether it’s hunting, fishing or helping his wife fix up a 1966 Shasta camper she recently purchased to travel around with “Sisters on the Fly,” an outdoor adventure group for women. He has served on the Custer Volunteer Fire Department since 2004.
Esser said he is open and honest and will be available in his new position. He said he will listen to what people have to say and try to utilize input from all agencies on how to better the emergency management program in the county.
“I’m excited to work with all the different entities in Custer County,” he said. “I’m just happy to be here and am excited about the new challenges.”