The Northern California wildfire devastation is nearly impossible to comprehend unless you lived through it, which we have not had to do in Sacramento. But the disaster has touched everyone no matter where they live, and citizens now have opportunities -- if not an outright obligation -- to do what we can in response. Monetary donations are perhaps the easiest, but each of us can also dig deep to see what we can contribute from our own experiences and backgrounds.
No response system is immune from improvement, and the death toll from these wildfires -- now at 41 and rising -- demands a rethinking of how our elected and appointed officials responded to this emergency. Subjects in need of a thorough review include:
* Emergency notification systems; the Sacramento Bee today delves into what worked and what didn't
* Optimal positioning of fire-fighting assets once hurricane-strength winds are forecast and fires break out;
* Many more....
I started this Citizens Helping Officials Respond to Emergencies (CHORE) blog after the 2006 earthquakes off the coast of Hawaii's Big Island -- 11 years ago today on Sunday, October 15, 2006. My "Your CHORE" blog detailed the inadequacy of the response, and it's now time for citizens to take up this new chore. Please read the first post from 2006 here at Your CHORE and contribute your thoughts by leaving a Comment.
No comments:
Post a Comment