Wildfire Response: Campus and Systemwide Response and Recovery

Transcription

1 Wildfire Response: Campus and Systemwide Response and Recovery Missy Brunetta Director for Emergency Services Sonoma State University Ken Folsom Emergency Manager Cal State Monterey Bay

2 Wildfire Response: Campus and Systemwide Response and Recovery INCIDENT OVERVIEW

3 Incident: 2:30-5:30 a.m. October 9 70 mph winds, dry conditions Fire visible along ridgelines to the east of campus Fires spreading rapidly with >8,000 homes threatened Tens of thousands evacuated Hospitals evacuated Local EOC s under threat of evacuation\ EOC staffing challenges countywide

4 Monday, October 9 Tubbs Fire

5 Incident: SSU on Monday, October 9 3,200 students and staff living in residence halls Staff live throughout region, many in impacted areas Fires rapidly heading south and west toward campus Vice Presidents: all brand new or interim CFO & Provost = 5 months total between both No communications officer

6 Fire Progress Comparisons Sunday, October 11 p.m. Monday, October 9

7 Action Plan: Monday, October 9 Classes & administrative activities canceled Identified staffing for EOC for first 24 hours Campus evacuation plan developed Housing plans (President & Provost) Communication with campus community

8 Response Concerns: Immediate Securing campus Turn off HVAC, mitigate impacts Close windows Fire prevention Hillside and campus visual patrols Wet down grounds 4x daily Staffing the EOC Many staff evacuated or under threat of evac

9 Fire Progress Comparisons October 10 October 12

10 Incident Update Wednesday and Thursday (10/11-12) Expanded fire danger Wind returned Nuns Fire (56,000 acres) threatening university Smoke & spot fire danger rising Called in support from other campuses Relocation of campus residents off campus All students & staff left safely Several close calls on EOC & staff evacuation

11 Incident Update Friday and Saturday (10/13-14) University under threat until winds shift Fire impact & needs survey published to faculty, staff, students Focus on recovery as Nuns Fire less threatening SSU EOC prepared to take in City of Sonoma EOC

12 Fire Progress Comparisons October 14 October 18

13 Incident Recovery 10/15-10/31 Decision to resume classes Wednesday 10/18 Social services campaign developed & implemented Repopulation planning & EOC taken down to Level II 10/18 through 10/31 EOC at Level 1 w/ daily briefings

14 Reopening Employees and residents permitted to return at noon on 10/17 (Tuesday) Full campus open Wednesday, 10/18 Welcome back events NomaCares Center

15 Video: statereopens after north bay fires forcedclosure/ /

16 Incident Impacts 110,000 acres burned in wine country 6,000 homes destroyed (Napa + Sonoma) 40 deaths Fires not fully contained until 10/31/18 SSU: 90 faculty, students, staff lost homes Many impacted students withdrew Some employees required extended leave NomaCares Center = support center open ~3 weeks

17 CSU Systemwide Coordinated Response State Operations Center & Mutual Aid

18 Monday, October 9 Reported to the SOC Operation Section Chief for a briefing This was the first time a representative from the CSU System was deployed to the SOC My background and experience briefing to the Ops Chief

19 Monday, October 9 Immediately established contacted with Sonoma State University s Emergency Manager, Missy Brunetta for a status report Shared that situation report with the CSU Emergency Managers Group this prompted s of offers for assistance to Sonoma State to staff the EOC. I took the lead to organize this. Briefed the SOC on Sonoma State situation at 7:00PM Worked the SOC until 7:30PM reported back at 7:00 AM

20 Working in the SOC Shift Hours 7:00AM 7:00PM 12+ hour shift arrive at 6:15, back at hotel at 8:30 A morning call and multiple calls to Sonoma State throughout the day for Situation Report Morning call to Chancellor's Office Situation briefing s out to the CSU EM Group to update group and coordinate EOC staffing resource. Coordinated a direct contact for Cal Fire for Sonoma State.

21 Working in the SOC Use of Web EOC a user had to be added to the system for CSU Status Boards FEMA meeting

22 VIP Visit to the SOC Working in the SOC

23 Working in the SOC/Remotely On Tuesday Afternoon October 10 th the Ops Section Chief decided I could coordinate the situation reports back at my home office. ed the Situation updates into the SOC Situation Unit Leader before 4:00 PM each day and at 8:00 AM each (note we were doing this from the SOC already) Continues receiving Situation updates from Sonoma State constantly even on my drive back to Monterey Bay Worked as CSU representative to the SOC until Friday morning October 13 th.

24 Reporting to Sonoma State Deployed to Sonoma State on Friday October 14 th for EOC staff as Operations Section Chief Arrived at 4:00 PM reported to the EOC for briefing Worked in EOC as an advisor until 8:00PM Worked in the EOC/Command Post until Monday Afternoon

25 CSU Mutual Aid Additional mutual aid provided by 17 additional CSU employees, covering 37 shifts over 8 days (not counting psychological services) Mutual aid was first used by University Police and was critical to field response and EOC PIO and psychological services mutual aid continued for weeks after the EOC closed

26 Wildfire Response: Campus and Systemwide Response and Recovery LESSONS LEARNED

27 Wildfire Response: Campus and Systemwide Response and Recovery LESSONS LEARNED: PREPAREDNESS & THE EOC

28 Emergency Preparedness during Transition Presidential transitions often bring significant leadership transitions. Emergency preparedness must remain and institutional priority. Critical positions to consider include: EOC Leadership PIO

29 EOC Appointments Have a deep and diverse EOC Consider the use of represented staff but be explicit in terms of working in the EOC Reevaluate EOC appointments after activation; not everyone is suited to perform in the EOC and you won t know until they are tested

30 Materials General ongoing focus on food and water Even in large, regional response, these materials were not difficult to obtain Consider PPE that might be more difficult to get. Consider how much you may actually need for up to 5-7 days. CSU should consider centralized record keeping of emergency equipment for deployment

31 Relationships The following relationships were critical to response: Pre-established relationships with neighboring jurisdictions and the county EOC Relationships within the CSU Emergency Services, Risk Management, Strategic Communications, and Facilities Services

32 Wildfire Response: Campus and Systemwide Response and Recovery LESSONS LEARNED: SAFETY & RISK MANAGMENT

33 EOC Safety Officer Safety Officer oversees both field and EOC operations Must consider environmental health and physical and mental health of all employees SSU now requires an EOC Safety Officer at any Level II or higher EOC deployment

34 EOC Safety PPE for all EOC workers should be issued at check in with rules & expectations Consider EOC ergonomics, but understand there are limits Inadequate EOC staffing and training led to overworked employees; consider reductions in shift length and increase days off as emergency develops Separate break area is important for mental breaks

35 Field Response Safety PPE for all field workers should be issued at check in with rules & expectations Communicate access to restrooms, food, water, break areas during campus closures Ensure that field supervisors (at minimum) are part of a daily safety briefing

36 Ongoing Mental Health Disaster fatigue is real. Employees responding may be significantly affected by the emergency Emergency responders experience emergencies differently. Ensure adequate after care is available. A mental health debrief is highly recommended.

37 Wildfire Response: Campus and Systemwide Response and Recovery LESSONS LEARNED: SOC, COORDINATION & MUTUAL AID

38 SOC Deployment The CSU System having a representative in the SOC is critical to the CSU System allows us to be apart of the big picture. The CSU SOC representative must be a highly qualified and experienced individual Cal OES is not aware of the qualified CSU Emergency Managers A SOC representative ensures coordination and support for local campuses affected by the emergency Web EOC - for SOC Position

39 SOC Deployment We must ensure that any effected campus has direct contact to a Cal Fire Liaison Officer for their area Roles and responsibilities of the CSU SOC representative need to be developed, campus populations and contact info radially available Maps of all campus locations and all satellite location need to be easily accessed by the representative in SOC.

40 CSU Coordination The CSU EMs established a system rather quickly to gather the availability of qualified personnel to assist Sonoma State if called upon, I was to coordinate this for the CSU System Some difficulties, others circumvented the system we established and took it upon themselves to contact Sonoma State A process and procedure need to be developed to request and deploy EOC or Incident Management Team personnel. Qualification of IMT pre-established

41 Mutual Aid Deployment My first impressions of the Sonoma State EOC was it was a well-organized and a well-functioning machine. Although no computer emergency manage system was not used, the Sonoma State EOC staff had utilized chart paper and attached them to the walls to record all important information, operational period objective, tasks to be accomplished, fire updates, important notices, safety messages, briefing times and Command and General Staff on duty. This worked so well I am incorporating it into my EOC

42

43 Mutual Aid Deployment The fires in Northern California that effected Sonoma State University impacted the campus in a way that the traditional Emergency Operations Center of supporting the Incident Command was not feasible. An Incident Command Post had to be formed to manage the event affecting the campus. This was done very successfully by Sonoma State adapting their EOC staff into the Incident Command staff. I will incorporate this into my EOP and train my IMT to function in this manner.

44 Mutual Aid Deployment Sonoma State recognized the need for lessons learned early on in the incident and recorded those key issues to be utilized in the After Action Report to be developed. This thinking helps all of us all not just Sonoma State.

45 Mutual Aid Deployment The emotional impact of this event was tremendous on all working in the EOC including myself, sometimes a good hug was needed. The staff supporting each other in their time of need was overwhelming. The attention that was paid to the EOC/ICP staff wellbeing was outstanding by the Sonoma State Incident Command Staff.

46 Wildfire Response: Campus and Systemwide Response and Recovery LESSONS LEARNED: SOCIAL SERVICES

47 2015 Valley Fire 2015 Wildfire in adjacent Lake County About 30 miles from SSU Burned over 75,000 acres Destroyed almost 2,000 structures

48 Student Impact Days into the fire, SSU Emergency Services became aware that dozens of students had lost homes, were evacuated, or were within the threatened areas Student address information was analyzed and we found that we had 53 students in the area. 11 were likely to have lost homes, 8 were likely to lose homes, and 7 others were in evacuation zones

49 Valley Fire Taskforce With a focus on service and enabling students to continue their education, if possible, a taskforce was developed Included representation from Student Affairs, Administration & Finance, Associated Students, CAPS, Housing, Residential Life, Academic Affairs

50 Services Victims assigned liaison to the taskforce Free replacement books donated by Barnes & Noble Free replacement parking permits Associated Students loans Housing accommodations Academic accommodations Counseling

51

52 Service Campaigns NomaCares Comprehensive marketing and assistance campaign to support fire victims led by Student Affairs and Human Resources NomaCares Center On campus assistance center with advisors, counselors, campus service providers, housing resources, discounts, gift cards, etc. NomaNeeds: Facebook page for community to share resources and provide support to victims

53

54 Wildfire Response: Campus and Systemwide Response and Recovery LESSONS LEARNED: CRISIS MARKETING

55 Crisis Marketing Major disasters create a market for donations of money and material When there is a legitimate need, we have a responsibility to provide support to our campus community Developed marketing campaign increases donor and victim confidence

56 Wildfire Response: Campus and Systemwide Response and Recovery LESSONS LEARNED: CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS

57 Crisis Communications More is more Restrict non-eoc communication Target to different audiences In-person briefings for residential students Call center and reception lines

58 Control of Communications During large emergencies and long closures, control of information is critical Single check in for all employees All managers notified not to communicate with staff regarding campus conditions Centralization of telephone calls Social media pros and cons

59 Wildfire Response: Campus and Systemwide Response and Recovery LESSONS LEARNED: ON LESSONS LEARNED & RECOVERY

60 After Action Process Significant emergencies require a community wide after action process Variety of means to reach constituents and gather information Focus on mission impact

61 SSU s Process EOC Leadership meetings EOC Section debriefs Field worker focus groups Student focus groups One on one meetings Surveys

62 Survey Findings 55% of EOC workers were experiencing some type of personal effect 49% of EOC workers had minimal or no training in the EOC 77% reported that returning to campus before the day we opened would have created a personal hardship 31% due to mental/emotional health, 19% due to physical health and 24% were evacuated 63% felt that we opened on the right day; 33% felt too soon; 4% too late 26% of faculty reported that the closure was significantly disruptive to curriculum 82% of employees were satisfied with the condition of their workspaces 56% of students report that the fires will either significantly or somewhat affect their academic success 88% of respondents were familiar with the Noma Care campaigns

63 In Closing Your community will show up for you when something horrible happens To consider ourselves a true community, supporting students, faculty, and staff after a disaster is part of our job Jump on the engagement that follows a disaster and ensure something positive comes from crisis CSU needs to continue to identify ways to work as a unit to ensure collective strength

64