Tag Archives: Emergency

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Amid Wildfires, California’s Emergency Warning Systems Take Heat

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Overnight, the Mendocino Complex Fire in Northern California expanded far enough to oust the 2017 Thomas Fire as the largest wildfire in the state’s history. Comprising two joined fires, the Mendocino Complex Fire has burned through 443 square miles in the area north of San Francisco. As of Tuesday morning, the fires burned more than 140 structures, including at least 75 homes, and was 30% contained.

But California’s residents and businesses still should be on alert, as the incendiary activity doesn’t end there. An unprecedented 14,000 firefighters are combating between 12 and 16 wildfires in the state, according to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Particular emphasis is in Northern California, where the fires in Mariposa and Shasta counties continue to threaten residents, businesses, and emergency responders. For 26 days, the Ferguson Fire in Mariposa County has burned nearly 90,000 acres and caused two fatalities. The fire is having a huge impact on areas near and around Yosemite National Park, which alerted the public that it had closed all but two entrances and roads.

Redding, a city 150 miles north of Sacramento, is the site of the Carr Fire, which has been ablaze for two weeks. Weather.com reported that the fire has caused seven deaths and the destruction of nearly 1,600 structures, the majority of which are homes.

The city of Redding launched an interactive map that provides residents with images of neighborhoods so they can check the status of their homes. Reports indicate that more than 1,800 structures are still in the path of the fire.

Despite such technological advances, many residents have questioned the effectiveness of the state’s emergency notification system, which they rely on for evacuation notices.

The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services currently uses an integrated California Public Alert and Warning System (CalPAWS) Plan to warn the public of danger.

Affected residents in several areas have claimed that they did not receive the CalPAWS evacuation order – including the great-grandmother who perished in the Carr fire in July with her two great-grandchildren. On Aug. 4, California Gov. Jerry Brown held a press conference in Shasta County to discuss the damage. But California’s emergency notification systems—and its unreliability in certain areas of the state—were a central focus of the conference.

Gov. Brown said he would consider legislation to improve alert systems, acknowledging local lawmakers’ proposals in an effort to create a statewide system that requires registration from all residents.

“I think we do need the best alert system we can get, and that’s what I would help the Legislature achieve,” Brown said, according to the Sacramento Bee. “There’s a lot of things we can do, and we can always do more …

given the rising threats on the changing of the weather, the climate.”

The Bee reported that a bill with adoption plans for a uniform alert system has been drafted:

The bill, Senate Bill 833, would require counties to automatically sign up residents for a uniform cell phone alert system. It would also fund a standardized system equipped to push out alerts on all forms of media—radio, television, electronic highway billboards and landlines. County emergency managers would be required to undergo annual training on the latest alert technology.

Under such a plan, which would utilize the federal Wireless Emergency Alerts system, they’d have to opt out rather than sign up voluntarily.

Furthermore, the governor said he hopes to overhaul the state’s 911 system, which would de-centralize the calls and notifications to ensure more accurate messaging.

Also on Aug. 4, the White House approved California’s request for a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration to help with the impacts of the wildfire in Shasta County.

“This is part of a trend—a new normal—that we’ve got to deal with. We’re dealing with it humanly, financially and governmentally,” Gov. Brown said during a media briefing at the Carr Fire Incident Command Post in Anderson, California. “These kinds of horrible situations bring people together, regardless of the lesser kind of ideologies and partisan considerations.”

JetBlue Pilot’s Meltdown Tests Emergency Procedures

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A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas had to be diverted to Texas yesterday after the plane’s captain had an apparent breakdown, requiring emergency procedures to swing into action that resulted in the pilot being locked out of the cabin and restrained by passengers and crew.

According to reports, the incident began when the co-pliot noticed that Captain Clayton Osbon was “acting erratically” in the cockpit and was flipping switches unnecessarily and seemed incoherent. The co-pilot persuaded Osbon to leave the cockpit and then locked the door behind him and changed the security code. Osbon became more agitated and began running up and down the aisle before banging on the cockpit door demanding to be let back in. Crew members attempted to calm him down but he became more irate and reportedly began screaming about Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Al Queda and that the plane was “going to be taken down.” Eventually a group of passengers, led by security personnel who were on their way to a conference in Las Vegas, tackled Osbon, restrained him with seat belts and sat on him for the remainder of the flight. An off-duty pilot who had also been a passenger assisted the co-pilot to safely land the plane in Amarillo, Texas, where Osbon was taken to a local hospital for observation. None of the 131 passengers or six crew members were harmed.

Osbon, who was a 12-year veteran of JetBlue and and a flight standards captain in charge of cockpit and safety procedures was described as a “consummate professional” by company CEO Dave Barger and had no history of incidents in the past. The FAA does require medical checks every year for pilots under the age of 40 and every six months for pilots older than 40. Although there is no formal psychiatric evaluation, these assessments include mental health questions and fellow crew members are trained to be on the lookout for any signs of mental distress.

Judging by the quick-thinking actions of the co-pilot and crew, with a big assist from the passengers, the system worked:

“I’d say the system functioned properly,” said Dave Funk, a retired Northwest Airlines captain and an aviation consultant with Laird & Associates. “There’s a reason we have two pilots. There’s a reason we have flight attendants. … One healthy pilot on the flight deck who’s qualified would have no problem landing the plane.”

This was the second incident this month in which passengers had to subdue unruly airline personnel. On March 9, passengers helped restrain an American Airlines flight attendant who got on the intercom before takeoff and ranted about 9/11 and airline safety before finally being removed from the plane.