On March 1, I attended the California League of Cities North Bay Division Panel Presentation, “Panel on Disaster Preparation: What Elected Officials Need to Know.” Panel participants were:
- Belia Ramos, President, Napa County Board of Supervisors
- Rob Giordano, Sonoma County Sheriff
- Tony Gossner, Santa Rosa Fire Chief
- Barry Biermann, CalFire & Napa County Fire Chief
A number of valuable lessons were discussed:
- Understand your county and city policies for sending out emergency alerts
- How to communicate with the public:
- It is important to establish relationships ahead of time between fire and law enforcement, between city and county, etc.
- Emergency operations center (EOC) information and intelligence sharing is critical.
I was moved by the professionalism and bravery of the first-responders on the panel. I shared these learnings with Town Staff and S.A. Town Council.
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