By Khalida Sarwari
No sooner were the emergency crews mopping up the Loma Fire than the U.S. Geological Survey released a report stating that a massive earthquake is on the horizon. Living in California, it seems, comes with a price, and not just the high cost of living. For all the breeze and sunshine, the Bay Area is also prone to earthquakes, wildfires and floods. But rather than panic, it’s better to prepare, experts say.
Fire safety
Now contained, the wildfire that started on Sept. 26 in the Santa Cruz Mountains burned nearly 5,000 acres and destroyed 12 homes and more than a dozen other structures, according to Cal Fire.
Ben Abeln, a spokesman for the Summit Store in Los Gatos, said he has witnessed an outpouring of goodwill and support from the mountain community, with both employees and residents coming to the aid of those affected by the fire. Abeln and his employees rolled up their sleeves to take snacks, Gatorade and water to the command center. They also made sure to keep Santa Cruz and Santa Clara County firefighters and other law enforcement officers involved in the containment effort well fed by delivering them sandwiches.
“It’s truly an incredible community, how we come together at any given point and get things done,” he said.
Their actions may have influenced their customers, who Abeln said have stepped up to help wherever they can. Many of them have opted to buy gift cards for firefighters coming on or off duty. The store has sold about 1,000 gift cards for this purpose, said Abeln. Customers are also donating money to a relief fund set up by the Loma Prieta Community Foundation to help victims of the Loma Fire.
“We’re really fortunate to be a part of this community,” said Abeln. “This community really gets things done, and I think if every community in the nation was like our community, we would be in a better off place.”
The Santa Clara County Assessor’s Office announced a disaster relief program recently, offering property owners whose homes were destroyed or damaged due to the fire a temporary property tax relief. Most of the damaged homes and buildings were in the Loma Chiquita neighborhood in Morgan Hill, according to the assessor’s office.
In order to be eligible, the assessable property damage must be greater than $10,000; the property’s damage sudden, caused by a calamity and not the fault of the property owner; and the application for reduced assessment must be submitted within 12 months of the date of the disaster. Other assessable personal property such as boats and airplanes are also eligible.
Residents who believe they qualify for the tax break are encouraged to visit the assessor’s website at sccassessor.org for information about eligibility requirements and how to apply for a reduction.
This time of year is ripe for wildfires, according to Denise Gluhan, a fire captain for the county fire department. One culprit is beetles, which are ravaging drought-weakened pine trees throughout the state.
“That’s a big concern, because those [trees] are going to go up like torches,” she said.
Now more than ever, proper fire maintenance is key. The first step is to ensure that your property’s address is easily identifiable so that firefighters can find your home in an emergency.
“We’re not going to even drive in if it’s not accessible to us,” she said.
According to the Santa Clara County Fire Department, when a structure catches fire, it becomes a huge ember generator because winds carry burning embers out ahead of the fire front, spreading the fire and igniting unburned vegetation and other structures.
There are measures residents can take to prevent this from happening. For one, maintaining about 100 feet of defensible space around properties is key, as is removing vegetative debris from the roof and gutters; clearing decorative vegetative debris (such as tan bark and mulch) 5 feet from the base of the house; removing combustible furnishings from the deck and storing it in a safe place, such as the garage; and removing combustible materials from under open decks, including vegetative debris.
Precautions are crucial and can save lives, but it’s also important to be ready to leave your property at a moment’s notice, said Gluhan.
“We obviously have a big fire potential in the hills,” she said. “When you get evacuation orders, be ready to go, and go … don’t ride it out.”
Earthquake safety
Some were rattled to learn about the USGS’s prediction of a major quake following a swarm of smaller earthquakes near Bombay Beach in southern California recently. But as long as the topic is out of the news, it might as well be out of mind for a lot of people.
“One of the difficulties we face is the frequency of earthquakes is low,” said Jim Yoke, an emergency services coordinator for the county fire department. “We haven’t had one in 27 years, so that means people in general get complacent. Complacency is our biggest foe when it comes to preparing for this.”
One of the best things people can do is to keep it a part of the conversation, plan ahead and understand the risks, said Yoke. Whether your home or office has been retrofitted will depend significantly upon your level of preparedness, he said.
“People need to take a look at where they live and where they spend their time,” said Yoke. Our primary concern is what we call nonstructural hazards: shelves falling over, people being injured by falling debris is a huge concern.”
When’s the last time you practiced the “drop, cover and hold” drill? You were probably in grade school. Now is a good time to brush up on the protocol to protect yourself during an earthquake. Keeping a pair of shoes and flashlight by your bed can also come in handy.
Residents should take some time to assemble a portable disaster supplies kit, said Gluhan. The kits are especially useful during a home confinement or evacuation. When creating the kit, keep in mind that the supplies should last each family member a minimum of 24 hours to a maximum of three days. It’s wise to store one at home in an accessible closet, a second one at work and a third in the car, if possible.
Some items to throw in there could be at least a gallon of water per person per day, nonperishable food, a first-aid kit, prescription and nonprescription drugs, a few tools such as a flashlight, phone chargers, batteries and portable radio, towels and soap, rain poncho and comfortable clothes and shoes.
It’s important to tailor the supplies to the needs and ages of each individual. A supply kit for children, for example, should include comfort food such as chips. Pets are not exempt from needing disaster kits. Gluhan advised keeping a carrier or crate stocked with a leash or harness, food and drinking water, medications and a photo of you and your pet in case they go missing.
She advised updating the kits every six months around the time when people generally replace smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Stephanie Stuehler, a spokeswoman for the county fire department, advised donating food items with impending expiration dates to the Second Harvest Food Bank. She noted also that the water in the toilet tank is safe to drink.
“But stay away from the bowl,” Yoke said.
For those who are not inclined to stick their head in their toilet tank, it’s worth checking out purification devices, said Yoke. Outdoor retailer REI, for example, has a filtration device that purifies water instantly.
Residents should be prepared to evacuate to a safe place in case of emergency and should have a plan for family members with special access needs. Whether it’s a hotel, friend or relative’s home or an emergency shelter, designate at least one destination during an emergency. It’s good to always keep your car’s gas tank filled at least halfway in case the electricity goes out, said Gluhan.
Something to keep in mind is that in the event of a power outage, items in the refrigerator are typically safe to use for four hours and those in the freezer for about 48 hours.
It’s helpful to identify an out-of-town person to keep in touch with when local phone lines go down. Keeping a copy of your will and insurance policies—either digitally or in a Ziploc bag—is also important. And while you’re at it, said Gluhan, sign up for AlertSCC, a useful emergency alert system for people who work or live in Santa Clara County.
Flood safety
Now is also the time to start getting ready for heavy rains and storms. Particularly in Saratoga, fallen trees, creek bank erosion and landslides are among the more severe effects. Saratoga’s public works director, John Cherbone, noted last year that localized street flooding caused by clogged storm drains is a common issue in Saratoga. Typically in December, the city will make sandbags available at its Corporation Yard at 19800 Allendale Ave. Residents can pick those up to keep water away from properties, especially if their driveway and residence are below street grade.
In the event of flooding, the general rule of thumb is to stay away from areas with 6 inches or more of water, whether you’re in a car or on foot. Residents who live near waterways might find the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s flood zone maps a helpful resource to determine whether a property is in a flood zone and thereby eligible for flood insurance.
“If you’re in a flood zone, consider getting flood insurance, because it’s not going to be covered under your regular insurance,” Gluhan said.
Generally, everything along Highway 17 over into Cupertino is considered to be in an inundation zone, said Gluhan. “It’s mostly along trails where they have stowaways and storm drainages,” she said, adding, “there’s not a lot of time in a flood, so if you’re in that zone you’ve got to think higher ground really fast.”
CERT Academy
One great place to get hands-on disaster preparedness is at the Community Emergency Response Team academy, a crash course in disaster preparedness, fire safety, disaster medical operations, light search and rescue, team organization, disaster psychology and terrorism awareness. County firefighters teach basic disaster response skills such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization and disaster medical operations. Starting in February, the fire department will also begin offering refresher courses to keep inactive volunteers engaged, said Gluhan. The department’s goal is to certify one in 25 residents, she said.
“That’s our goal—to have people be prepared and self-sufficient,” she added. “It’s the difference in making it through or not making it through with less suffering and less inconvenience.”
Fari Aberg, a software engineer from Cupertino, never wants to feel the way she did on Oct. 17, 1989. When the Loma Prieta earthquake struck at a little past 5 p.m., she was at work, feeling helpless that she couldn’t be with her young children.
“Fortunately I had my sister in town and she was able to pick them up from daycare,” Aberg recalled. “My children were small, and I was not ready at all.”
The experience left a big impression on Aberg, and soon after she signed up for an emergency preparedness course through CERT and eventually started organizing her own neighborhood. Today, Cupertino has 275 CERT-trained volunteers and dozens of active volunteers (for comparison purposes, Campbell has 150, Los Gatos/Monte Sereno has 440 and Saratoga has 250, according to Gluhan). Aberg considers herself among the latter group. Along with CERT, she’s also a coordinator for the Medical Reserve Corps and a volunteer for the Cupertino Amateur Radio Emergency Service.
“We all work together and train throughout the year to be prepared for any disasters that come,” she said. “Our main concentration is earthquakes. We do one major drill a year and a few small ones throughout the year to keep our skills in good use.”
Compared to most other cities, Cupertino is “very well prepared” for earthquakes, floods and fires, all of which the city is prone to, said Aberg. Central to that preparation is the seven emergency storage containers the city maintains for volunteers when disaster strikes. Otherwise known as “arks,” the containers are stocked with medical items, communication devices and supplies.
Aberg’s neighbor to the north, Kathy Besser considers herself fortunate to live in one of the more organized neighborhoods in Sunnyvale. As part of their “prepare and be aware” effort, she and other leaders of the Cherryhill neighborhood recently put together a flier that was delivered to about 500 homes along with a gallon of water and a flashlight/keychain with a non-emergency number for the police.
“To me, the mentality people living in California should have is it can happen any time, and being prepared is a tiny investment of time and money,” said Besser.
A two-hour disaster preparedness course Besser took years ago was so impactful that she now encourages her neighbors to educate themselves, via either an online course or the CERT academies, depending on how much time they have. Education and preparedness can make the difference between being self-sufficient or panicking when disaster strikes, she said. Among other things, she said she has learned how to keep warm, stop bleeding, turn off utilities and compile an emergency to-go bag.
“It just helps you be more confident that you know what to do,” said Besser. “Every bit of knowledge that people can glean about how to take care of themselves in an emergency is important.”
Also important is maintaining ties with your neighbors “so that in the event of an emergency we can mobilize,” she said. It’s important to know where the elderly live, for example, so they can receive priority help. That information can especially be helpful in the case of a wildfire similar to the Loma Fire.
“That would be one where you want to make sure you know about people who are homebound under an evacuation order,” Besser said. “Building community and coming together in something like an emergency can save your life—literally save your life—or the life of someone you care about.”
The Sunnyvale Public Library is holding a free personal preparedness course Oct. 15 from 3 to 5:30 p.m. RSVP at goo.gl/forms/rBdszp5BSL. The same class will be offered through the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety on Nov. 6 from 2 to 4 p.m. at 700 All America Way.
The next CERT program in the South Bay kicks off on Oct. 18 at the Los Gatos Police Department. The session runs from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays through Nov. 5 and is open to residents of Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Saratoga, Campbell, Los Altos Hills, Los Altos, Cupertino and unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County. The cost is $35.
There is also a free class three-hour crash course on emergency preparedness slated for Oct. 19 at the same location.
For registration and information, email info@sccfd.org.
