Thoughts from the Bark Side

Hi,
First, to get an idea the size and scope of the Station Fire, CLICK HERE. It is an incredible photo essay of the fire. (Thanks Sharon for sending me the link!)

I attended another CERT call-out Thursday which was 6 pm to midnight. This one was much more manageable, especially with the sun going down and the heat dissipating. I got there early to walk around and take some photos.

I came to understand that some of the engines and support units had already been relocated. The sea of tents were fewer and the rows and rows of fire engines, tenders and trucks were less in number also. However, this time I had an opportunity to really see what was going on.

I did take some photos before my shift, but then as I was assigned to “foot patrol” I was able to shoot a few more. I was assigned with a fellow CERT volunteer, and a LA Sheriff’s Civilian Volunteer. Mostly our assignment was to answer questions, give directions and just have a presence there. It was basically just walking around, but I did enjoy it. The other positions were traffic control and a few positions were just to remind the police not carry their weapons into a specific area. Some CERT members had been there for days, going home for a few hours of sleep and then back again. Incredible dedication.

Click here for photos of the Station Fire base camp

Though the base camp was slightly less populated, it was still an amazing area. They had huge sleeper units, semis with air conditioners where the fire fighters could go and get some much deserved rest. There were shower units, sink units for shaving and brushing of teeth, a laundry facility and of course, what would base camp be without a chow line. This night they were serving steak and baked potatoes. Oh, a few of the support trucks had TV’s. Some firefighters had pulled up chairs to watch football on ESPN (I did hear a bit of snoring however.)

Right now the fire is about 50% contained, has burned 154,000 acres. It has been ruled arson and thus whoever set it when found will be charged with homicide for the deaths of the two fire fighters.

The U.S. Forest Service said that the fire has displaced countless animals that are hungry, thirsty and may well wander into neighborhoods searching for food and water. I don’t want to think about those hurt and injured…and worse. What kind of monster sets fires? I just can’t figure it out.

Thanks for reading. If you have the time, please look into volunteering.
Cheers,
Susan

Hello,
Yesterday I attended my first emergency “call-out” as a certified CERT member. The instructions were to go to the “Station Fire” base camp and to assist however we could in the efforts to fight this rampaging blaze. CERT does not fight the blaze, we are, let’s say, the caulk in any gaps that are needed in helping the support efforts. In my case, I did traffic control.

At this writing, the fire is now 85,000 sq. acres or 134 sq. miles. To see a map of this fire, CLICK HERE. It is updated every few hours and as needed. It is the worst fire in this area that I can remember and I have lived in LA for 30 years. Power is now in danger, as well as some emergency communications, radio and television (cable not affected.) It is only 5% contained.

What I saw while driving in with my neighbor and fellow CERT member yesterday at 5:30 am, was something we have never seen on TV. We were coming in the opposite direction of the CERT call-out instructions, so we were not sure where the CERT station was located. We turned into the first place we could and though it was not where we need to go, we were astounded at what we saw. An entire CITY was set up. As far as you could see were legions of fire fighters, equipment & rigs, mobile command posts for all agencies and tents, a sea of tents. It was dark and so incredibly smokey this base camp seemed to have sprung up like Brigadoon, but in truth it had only been there for three days and was hardly bucolic. It was eerie, the way the smoke was captured in the emergency lights. Shadows of all these emergency workers in determined crossing paths, getting ready for another hellacious day. I didn’t take photos of this, it was almost too intrusive, and probably why we do not see this on TV.

Fire fighters, sheriffs, and police and all sorts of support personnel were swarming the area. We saw fire fighters all over, crossing the dirt road while brushing their teeth, and many carrying plates of food, all before going back out on the line. We drove around until finally asking a commander if he knew where the CERT post was. We got our directions but before we drove off, he thanked us for coming and said how much he appreciated OUR efforts. CAN YOU IMAGINE? These are the guys putting their lives on the line and they are thanking us. That happened through-out the day. I would wave some police or fire fighters through the intersection, and they said thanks for doing this. Wow.

The base camp was stretched along about a mile. Every type of fire fighting equipment was parked in the make-shift parking area and hundreds of police cars and motorcycles were along the road. There were few jobs for us that early, so we just waited for instructions. At about 8:00 the massive roll out started and it lasted for a solid half an hour. This was all the equipment and fire-fighters Juliana and I saw in the camp a few hours earlier. Rigs from the forestry services from all over, every county and city of LA was represented, rigs from Wyoming, Montana and Arizona drove by all carrying the scores of fire fighters, men and women, going back on the line. Hundreds of fire trucks passed by us to get up to the freeway to carry them to the heart of the fire. Since the Governor declared this a emergency, they also rolled the special Search and Rescue trucks. We were in awe. You cannot but feel incredibly humbled by seeing this, the mass of men and women going to protect us.

The weather was brutal. No breeze and it was about 105 degrees and about 8% humidity. I drank 4 bottles of water and 2 bottles of gatorade, but still got a nasty headache that sent us home after just an eight hour shift (we found out after asking to be released the shift was 12 hours.) I was sick as a dog that night, totally incapacitated from the heat, smoke (I did wear my particle mask most of the day) and the headache. How do these firefighters do it? I was nowhere near the heat of the fire nor did I have to carry the weight of all the equipment and heavy clothing they must wear and I was miserable, focused, but miserable. (I sure didn’t want to cause two fire engines to collide. That would be rather embarrassing. Lose focus, time to go home. As they say in CERT, do not become the victim! Amen.)

Captain Stacy Gerlich is the CERT Unit Commander for the City of Los Angeles. She has to figure out where our resources are needed and how we are then deployed and if and when a new call-out is needed (it is an automated call to our cell phones and to our email.) She has done so much to promote CERT in the LA community and to organize us into a functioning entity. Our thanks to her especially. I have to thank the other CERT members, those far more hardy than I that stayed on for the full 12 hours. You are amazing.

Thank you and blessings to the firefighters. We share in your loss of your fellow fire fighters, and our prayers and thoughts are with you and their families. It was a tragic accident. We hope we get the change in weather that we need to help this impossible and inexplicable situation. You need a well deserved rest, in air conditioning, and to be home with your families.
Susan

Hi all,

Went to a seminar given for the Los Angeles Fire Department for MCI-Mass Casualty Incident training yesterday.  We CERT’s (Community Emergency Response Team-see previous blog) were invited to attend (and be “victims” if needed). You no doubt heard of that horrific train crash that killed 25 people in Chatsworth.  Some of the firemen had been at that emergency. They had a lot of lessons learned from processing that disaster.

The fire chiefs repeated what everyone has been saying: it is not if the big emergency, earthquake, or terrorist event will happen, it is WHEN!  I’ve now taken over 24 hours of emergency training, and I have to tell you, I don’t think it is possible to feel totally prepared for the unknown.  However, to be as prepared as you can be, you are way ahead of the game.

I put together a website for our community.  Many of the pages are quite applicable to other communities and cities.  Please take a look at SunValleyHills.org (http://www.sunvalleyhills.org)  It has information and links to emergency supply places, PDF downloads of emergency preparation for the home and family, fire safety, etc.  There is also a page for dog rules and safety.  There is also a forum to ask questions and talk about different issues.  You do not have to live in our community to take advantage of the information available.

Hopefully, I can get Shilo back to the computer soon.  He is worse at blogging than I am. 

Cheers,
Susan

Hi all, Susan here,

It has been awhile since I wrote here. I had taken the first level CERT training last month (Community Emergency Response Team) and highly recommend it, even if you use it just for yourself, family and peace of mind. Go here to learn more. It is very valuable training and given by, in my case, the Los Angeles Fire Department. You learn fire safety (and how to use a fire extinguisher), turn off the gas, the electricity, disaster triage, disaster psychology, types of disasters, some first aid, search and rescue, and general good practice during a disaster. Think how great it would be if there were several qualified CERT folks in each neighborhood and on every street. You can learn more and find where there are classes in your community by going to https://www.citizencorps.gov/cert/. Please really consider taking this course, it is only 20 hours. I took mine over 3 sequential Saturdays.

Thursday they needed volunteers to assist at Oakridge Mobile Home Park in the last days that the former residents could look for any valuables that might be hidden in the ashes of that huge fire from last November. Though everyone in Southern California is affected at one time or the other by the fires they have here, actually standing in the ruins of so much devastation (and heartache) was very sobering and sad. We were just stationed around the property to see if the folks needed anything and were doing OK. Some had great, “we’ll rebuild” attitudes, some were still overwhelmed.

One woman in our course was in Miami during one of those huge hurricanes and were without services and help for two weeks. Would you have everything in place to survive for that long? In a horrible disaster it could be days, even weeks, before emergency personnel can get to you. Do you have home and car emergency kits, enough water and food for a week, first aid kits? The CERT course gives you valuable information in what to do and how to prepare for the worst. We cannot be prepared enough. Take the course!
Cheers,
Susan