After the 1996 election , Weiland was appointed by President Bill Clinton to serve as the Region VIII Director of FEMA , and the family , by then including daughters Taylor and Alexandra , moved to Evergreen , Colorado . As Region VIII Director , Weiland oversaw several states , including South Dakota , Colorado , Utah , North Dakota , Wyoming , and Montana . In 1997 , as Weiland was being installed as regional director of FEMA , the Red River swamped its banks , causing unprecedented flooding to North Dakota and Minnesota , inundating all of downtown Fargo and causing the evacuation of Grand Forks , North Dakota in an event known as the 1997 Red River Flood . He supervised the Federal recovery response , which served over 29,000 applicants in Grand Forks , alone . In 1998 , Weiland spearheaded the disaster relief response when Spencer , South Dakota was struck by a major tornado , wiping out the town in the event known as the Late-May 1998 tornado outbreak and derecho . Weiland coordinated with then-Governor Bill Janklow to ensure that the residents of Spencer received food , shelter , and other necessities . In 1998 , Weiland assisted local officials in response to the Columbine tragedy . Weiland and his staff helped to coordinate work among disparate agencies to provide public affairs support to local law enforcement . In 1999 , an F2 tornado devastated the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation . Weiland utilized federal aid freed up by President Clinton to assist the communities impacted by the tornado . In 2000 , Weiland again worked with then-Governor Bill Janklow to coordinate the Federal response to the Jasper fire in Black Hills , South Dakota . Later in 2000 , Weiland led a " historic " conference from 28 tribal nations within FEMA Region VIII . At the conference , Weiland and FEMA worked to establish more effective emergency management and coordination to improve services to underprivileged communities on tribal reservations throughout FEMA Region VIII . The conference established a Tribal Emergency Management Coordination Council with representatives from 21 of the 28 tribes present
Columbine tragedy
Columbine High School massacre
Rick Weiland