Lake County >> When you’ve lost everything, where do you begin? After putting in seemingly countless hours to help with the initial chaos, Lake County Office of Emergency Services (OES) staff members are now shifting their efforts to help fire victims as they begin the slow, long process of moving forward.
Within hours after the Rocky Fire first erupted on July 29, Lake County OES Manager Marisa Chilafoe activated the Lake County Emergency Operation Center (EOC) as firefighters attacked the blaze that would eventually destroy more than 40 homes.
The center has remained active ever since, and so has the fire. For more than two weeks now, county OES staff has been working around the clock. They are tasked with bringing together a myriad of agencies – local, regional, state, federal – in order to manage emergency situations to protect the public, property and environment from natural and man-made distasters. Coordination efforts have involved working with law enforcement, fire departments, nonprofits, the Lake County Office of Education and the American Red Cross, to list only a few.
It didn’t take long for the Rocky Fire to explode and put a stress on local resources, quickly requiring response from out-of-county emergency personnel to the incident, eventually bringing in fire crews from all 50 states.
Finally on Sunday Jill Ruzicka, Lake County public information officer, got off work at 3 p.m. after more than a week without anything more than breaks for sleep. Just a day before the fire’s initial containment date, she was ready to demobilize emergency responders and start dealing with recovery efforts. Unfortunately for her, and the thousands of others who were ready to rest, the Jerusalem Fire broke out within the hour.
“Holy moly, how much can Lake County take?,” Ruzicka recalls thinking.
Swift response included opening a Lake County Local Assistance Center (LAC) on Monday, a hub in Clearlake for victims to connect with resources, as well as creating the website www.lakecountylac.com to post the most up-to-date information.
“We were able to get the website live in 36 hours,” Ruzicka said. “I’m so proud of that.”
Emergency services staff from Napa County played a vital role in launching it, she noted. Their experience with the magnitude 6 earthquake that shook the neighboring county last fall allowed them to give insight on dealing with a large-scale crisis.
Getting information to the public is one of the main duties of the Lake OES, but even with experienced help, in a remote and rural area such as Lake County, “we have to figure out things differently,” Ruzicka said.
The Lake OES has a small staff, so she said they rely on sending press releases to media outlets to get the correct information out, which can be difficult to do sometimes with rumors and misinformation flying around.
Facebook and social media also became key resources in keeping the community informed, and in the last few weeks the Lake OES Facebook page has received triple the likes with off-the-charts high engagement.
As the final flames die down, the Lake OES is beginning the recovery phase. Ruzicka has been meeting every day at 3 p.m. with officials from various departments for updates.
“There are many people focusing their attention on the development of a thorough, comprehensive debris removal plan that is safe for the residents and safe for our environment,” Lake County Administrative Officer Matt Perry said in a statement.
It’s still difficult to quantify the damage caused by both the Rocky and Jerusalem fires, which combined have consumed close to 100,000 acres, but county officials already estimate clean up efforts alone will cost between $4 and $5 million.
“Recovery is going to go one for a long time,” Ruzicka said. But her work situation is “not nearly as daunting as for those people who lost their homes. I can’t imagine.”
Perry said staff is waiting for approval from the Lake County Board of Supervisors to access funding sources. They are scheduled to make their decision at their next meeting on Tuesday at the Lake County Courthouse.
“As we focus our attention on the Rocky Fire Recovery, our hearts are with those who suffered devastating losses during the last two weeks,” Perry said.
