Coming Together to Help
February 19, 2019 1:10 PM
by Lindsay B. Call
This article originally appeared in the February edition of Seascape.
Los Angeles County is on the road to recovery from the Woolsey Fire, the worst wildfire in LA County’s modern history. In any emergency, neighbors helping neighbors is key to an effective response. The Woolsey Fire was no different. City of Santa Monica employees across departments stepped up and provided support to our neighbor jurisdictions battling the unprecedented event. Personnel rapidly deployed to fight the blaze and facilitate safe evacuations from Malibu through Santa Monica. Staff worked in partnership with City of Malibu and local partner agencies to communicate information about smoke advisories, host a community meeting for wildfire evacuees and provide City of Malibu a back-up Emergency Operations Center while they were evacuated. Everyone worked together to accomplish a common mission: serve those impacted by the disaster.
In response to the disaster, the City of Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and Culver City fire departments came together as Strike Team 1075A which jointly sent five engines to assist in the efforts. Both Battalion Chief John Nevandro and Captain Mike Fitzgerald from the Santa Monica Fire Department lead the Strike Team that spent the first 60 hours of deployment providing structure protection to endangered homes and successfully saved all of the homes they were assigned to. After a total of 7 days on the fire, more resources from out-of-state became available and the brave men and women of the Santa Monica Fire Department and Strike Team 1075A returned back to their respective cities.
Be prepared for the next emergency. Take 10 minutes to review your household’s emergency plans to be ready if the disaster occurred in Santa Monica. |
Authored By
Lindsay B. Call
Chief Resilience Officer