Partners in Preparedness

Humboldt County Office of Education

Humboldt County is the second most northern coastal county in California. The population is sparse and scattered (127,700 population within 3,572.9 square miles). Eureka (population 26,050) is the largest city. This small city and other smaller towns are surrounded by majestic redwoods, rolling mountains and isolated beaches. Most towns are municipalities: only seven cities in Humboldt County are incorporated. There are 33 school districts in Humboldt County. One of our school districts (Southern Humboldt) is approximately the size of Rhode Island.

Our region is the single most seismically active region in the continental United States. During this century, 24 earthquakes have caused significant damage to structures. We are located in the Cascadia subduction zone where earthquakes will produce strong ground shaking and trigger tsunami waves that will reach coastal communities within minutes. In our region, strong earthquakes will isolate communities by damaging roads and cutting communications. Our county as a whole may also be isolated from the rest of the state by terrain that could prevent goods and services reaching the area after a major catastrophe.

Project Overview

Because of the very real threat of natural disaster, the Humboldt County Office of Education has established cooperative relationships with local emergency support agencies, to collaborate and develop emergency response plans and training for each of the public and private schools located in our county.

Preparedness Activities in the Community

The Humboldt County Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services conducts an Operational Area (OA) Meeting bimonthly for interdisciplinary OA agencies and organizations that have an emergency management interest. Representatives include members of county departments (Sheriff, Public/Environmental Health, Public Works, Social Services, Coroner), OA cities (police, fire public works), OA special districts (fire, water, schools), state and federal agencies (OES, California Department of Forestry (CDF), California Department of Transportation, California Highway Patrol, Department of Fish and Game, Humboldt State University, National Weather Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Coast Guard), non-profit groups (American Red Cross, Salvation Army, Emergency Medical Services) and other interested organizations (Amateur Radio (HAM), Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters (VOAD), tribal groups, hospitals). The meetings are a cooperative effort to coordinate information relating to emergency management functions within the OA.

Members review issues such as current events, individual agency/organization status, training/exercise opportunities, grant funding, and emergency preparedness/planning. The meetings provide a forum to facilitate a better understanding of the individual agency's and individual organization's status, capability, responsibility, and coordinating role in the OA's organized response to area-wide emergencies.

The Redwood Coast Tsunami Work Group (RCTWG) brings together government agencies, service groups and the private sector to lessen the tsunami hazard in Northwest California to reduce loss of life from tsunamis. One of the methods RCTWG uses to educate the public is to sponsor a Tsunami/Earthquake room at the Humboldt County Fair (1999 - present).

The Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (VOAD) works with the Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services to coordinate human service needs following a disaster. Members of VOAD consist of agencies supplying emergency food, shelter, clothing, communication, counseling, and volunteer personnel during a disaster. VOAD coordinates these organizations, sharing information, directing resources, and screening and assigning volunteers. This organization was formed following the April 1992 earthquakes to coordinate information and resources among the nonprofit voluntary agencies throughout Humboldt County. The membership has expanded to include first responders from law enforcement, fire and local government. Future Community Emergency Response Team Training (CERT) will be the responsibility of this group and will be coordinated through the United Way of Humboldt County with training curriculum and trainers provided by the American Red Cross.

The Humboldt-Del Norte County Medical Society - Disaster Committee has been the venue for medical and health disaster planning since the 1992 earthquakes which measures 7.1, 6.9 & 6.7 on the Richter scale, in an effort to provide a common forum for multi-disciplinary disaster planning. Currently, there are about 230 different entities on the committee. This includes the Public Health, Medical Society, hospitals, Rural Health & Tribal Clinics, county schools, fire departments, provider offices, home-health agencies, skilled nursing facilities, medical equipment suppliers, Sheriff's office, Office of Emergency Services, HAM radio community, pharmacies and others. We meet on a quarterly basis to discuss current developments, plan disaster drills/exercises and share/review each group's individual response plans. All members are connected to a broadcast fax and e-mail list so important information can be disseminated quickly. Humboldt County is a very rural, remote county that experiences many types of natural disasters that isolate many of our communities. This venue has allowed all these entities to identify each of the areas within the county that become "Isolated Islands of Humanity" (IIH) and develop coordinated multi-agency response plans. The county schools have been an integral part of our group in the development of our coordinated response plans and have supported the designation of their schools as primary shelter sites.

The School Law Enforcement Network consists of representatives from the District Attorney's office, law enforcement, school districts, County Office of Education, administrators, teachers, counselors, DSP officers, school resource officers, county drug program administrator, and drug prevention and intervention specialists. This committee meets four times a school year and is attended each time by 30-40 members. They advise and assist districts in the maintenance and enhancement of existing prevention programs; provide districts with information regarding substance abuse identification, intervention and referral systems; increase awareness of youth and gang violence and substance-use by supporting school and community in-services and by promoting conflict resolution programs in schools.

A County-Wide Threat Assessment Team was identified as a need by the school law enforcement network. The larger districts already had a team in place, we realized that small districts did not have the resources or personnel to create and or sustain one. The purpose of the Threat Assessment team is to assist districts once an individual has been identified as possibly becoming a threat to himself or others. In the past, students who have caused violence showed signs of trouble before an incident. We have many agencies that may be already working with the student and/or their family, communication with affected agencies needed to occur. The goal of the Threat Assessment team is to assist, assess and advise the school, the identified student and his family with their crisis, before the student acts.

Training and Education

Humboldt County is using the current USDOE grant to train teachers, develop site maps on CDs and create an information pamphlet for parents and the community.

We are offering training for teachers to assist them in understanding the emergency response "big picture" and their responsibilities at their school sites. Some of the areas that will be covered are:

• Response Organizations
• Communications
• Incident Command Terminology
• School Emergency Plans

Presently emergency agencies that would respond to school sites have hard copies of school site maps. We are developing consistent site maps with pertinent information (fire lanes, location of alarm sub panels, room numbers, etc) to be burned on CDs for quicker access. (Most emergency agencies now have laptop computers in their vehicles.)

We then plan to expand emergency preparedness education to the community. The community needs to know of the schools' emergency plans and understand how schools are prepared to keep students safe. The community education pamphlets will explain the schools emergency plans; why they are in place, where to obtain a plan for review, and places to obtain family emergency preparedness information. We will distribute the pamphlets in English, Spanish, Hmong and Laotian in order to reach all our students' families.

Emergency Preparedness Workshops

The SchoolGuard project includes both regional workshops for partnering counties, and county-specific workshops tailored to the individual needs of each partner county.

Contact Information

Kim Comet
County Coordinator
707-445-7067
kcomet@humboldt.k12.ca.us

Return to Partners homepage