EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS TOWN HALL 3/31/25
TIMELY MEETING - Last night my wife and I attended the first of several Emergency Preparedness Town Halls scheduled for this spring. This one was held at the Costa Mesa Senior Center and was 90 minutes well-spent.
SMALL TURNOUT - Once again, an important community outreach effort was sparsely attended. From my seat I counted around 20 members of the public - outnumbered again by staff. I hope a greater effort is made to expand outreach for the future meetings.
THE SCHEDULE - Chief Stefano kicked thing off shortly after 6:00 p.m., gave us an overview of what was on the agenda and handed it off to Chief Lawrence to briefly address the Police Department's role in the emergency preparedness planning. Stefano explained that, while the recent Southern California fires were catastrophic, Costa Mesa and our nearby region are more likely to be affected by an earthquake - like those experienced last week in Myanmar and Thailand.
CHIEF VASIN ON THE BATTLE - Stefano then called on Battalion Chief Tim Vasin - shown here in the center with Deputy Fire Chief Jason Pyle, and Fire Marshall Jon Neal - who gave us a description, complete with real-time video, of his deployment as a Strike Team Commander at the Eaton Fire. He explained in detail the frustration of not being able to save homes in a fire that was driven by hurricane force winds. His explanation of how he and his team prioritized their actions, with Life Safety being #1, helped us grasp the situation. While most of us have seen the videos of the Eaton Fire and the Palisades Fire that was occurring simultaneously the first week of January this year, Vasin's explanation of life on the fire line gave us a very new perspective.
STEFANO ON COSTA MESA'S PLANNING - Chief Stefano then took charge again and explained how all the City Departments work in concert when planning for these kinds of disasters. He explained the synergy between the Costa Mesa Fire and Rescue Department and the Costa Mesa Police Department, plus other city departments like the City Manager's Office, Finance, IT, etc. He praised the City Council and senior staff leadership for finding funding for critical equipment and creative ways to deal with these issues. He mentioned upgraded equipment, re-building old fire stations and the creation of a new Training Center.
MESA WATER'S ROLE - Then Paul Schoenberger, General Manager of Mesa Water, stepped up and explained the role of that organization in preparation for disasters. He told us about the sources of water provided by Mesa Water, the quality of the staff (365+ days without a lost-time accident), the maintenance of the 3383 hydrants and more than 300 miles of pipes.
IMAGES - I've included many images, including photos of the slides used last night. Take some time to view them and glean valuable information provided. The City will review how this first meeting went and advise us of the dates and locations of future meetings on this important subject. I'll post those dates on my Facebook page when available.
FEELING GOOD ABOUT OUR PREPAREDNESS - While most of us have not done enough to prepare our personal space in the event of a major disaster, I'm quite comfortable that our municipal team and their resources are positioned to help us survive should something happen. We are fortunate to have outstanding staff leaders and a City Council that understands these issues and takes pro-active steps to help manage them.
A REMINDER - Almost 20 years ago, in the wake of the damage done by Hurricane Katrina, I contemplated what a major earthquake along the Newport-Inglewood Fault might do to our area. I researched it and wrote a long essay, which I attached to my then-fledgling blog. I present a link to that entry, which is still worth contemplating, but is out of date when you consider the population increase and changes in regional infrastructure that have happened in the last two decades. All my numbers will be low. Anyhow, here's the link for your reading pleasure.