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 Officia
CHORE was launched in 2006 after officials responding to an earthquake emergency obviously didn't measure up; see CHORE's earliest posts. Their performance left an opening for average citizens to weigh in with experience-based suggestions to improve crisis communications. The many deaths recorded after California's wildfires also revealed gaps in officials' ability to communicate effectively. Visitors are invited to comment with their own ideas.