[EAS] Wildfires -- Colorado re-learning the lessons California learned

[Ted Langdell]

Tim, Sean, Perhaps Boulder County and the areas in Colorado affected by that quick fire experienced problems similar to what BUTTE county did during the Camp Fire that burned through Paradise California.

Perhaps we should look for this sort of information in the post fire assessment of what happened?

In a reply to the California state auditor, Butte County said among other things:

"Adequate Warnings and Alerts
26
25
The County notes the assertion in the report that it did not prepare adequately to warn residents of danger from wildfires. That assertion does not take into account the complexities inherent with issuing alerts in "no-notice" events that almost immediately overwhelm the capacity of first responders and the systems in place to issue emergency notifications. It also does not take into account the County's efforts to provide alerts and warnings over and above the use of the CodeRED Alert Systems (CodeRED) to issue evacuation orders during the Camp Fire. 
27
25a
That assertion appears to be based solely on the fact that the first several messages sent through CodeRED did not incorporate Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) and Emergency Alert System (EAS) messages through the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), which was initially a product of the chaotic conditions under which the sole staff member available at that time to send messages, was operating under. As the day progressed and a better understanding of the situation was developed, the staff member attempted to issue WEA/EAS messages concurrently with CodeRED messages. Those WEA/EAS messages were not successful. When that was learned, BCSO worked with CodeRED to issue subsequent WEA/EAS messages. (BCSO continues to work with CodeRED to understand the cause of the initial breakdown and we have since developed a protocol wherein emergency alerts are sent through CodeRED and a duplicate message is sent through IPAWS).
29
28
It is important to understand that a disaster the size of the Camp Fire is beyond the staffing capacity of most organizations, as agencies must staff to the norm and not to extreme circumstances. Under the circumstances of a normal disaster, staff would not have been immediately overwhelmed. The report does not acknowledge that the County initiated messaging to landlines in the affected area, in partnership with AT&T. Also, absent in the discussion is Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), which is the communication resource many foothill residents use due to lack of cell service availability. VoIP does not work when infrastructure is destroyed or power is out. In general, any technology-based alert systems, including WEA, EAS, and CodeRED, became useless as cell towers and infrastructure are destroyed quickly and power is cut off. This is evident in the rapidly decreasing delivery percentages illustrated in the Camp Fire notification lists. As the fire progressed and infrastructure failed, the percentages of successful notifications plummeted.
29a
Overall, the findings in the report illustrate the frailty of any alert and warning system that relies solely upon the wireless network to convey messages. Butte County recognized that frailty years ago and as a result developed other methods of communicating emergency information to impacted communities. During the Camp Fire, Butte County also disseminated information to its social media sites, websites and traditional media. Local news channels began broadcasting about the fire and the evacuations immediately. First responders used sirens to alert people while doing door-to-door notifications. First responders used public announcement systems from their vehicles. All of these methods of alerting and warning the public are in accordance with FEMA and CalOES best practices. The County utilized numerous resources to warn residents before and during the Camp Fire. There is no FEMA best practice that will provide for broad notifications during a catastrophic fire storm as was experienced during the Camp Fire."
http://auditor.ca.gov/reports/2019-103/responses.html

Ted

Ted Langdell
Secretary, Co-founder
Yuba-Sutter Community Media, Inc.
KXYS-LP, 94.3, Marysville, CA

(530)_301-2931
Ted at Yuba-SutterCommunityMedia.org 
www.Yuba-SutterCommunityMedia.org


>On Jan 1, 2022, at 4:55 PM, Ted Langdell kxmjradio at gmail.com> wrote:

>Tim,

>Our LPFM was not on the air, and our SAGE was not in action during that event, but I'd expect to find EAS alerts during that fire event. I became aware of the fire early on, and alerted our mutual friend (Ken in Magalia) as the fire began its down-canyon run in the dawn hours.

>I'd have to check way back then, but I believe Butte County was making use of EAS alerts soon after or at the time that what became the "Camp Fire" started southeast of Paradise in the Feather River canyon, and downslope winds swept the fire down-canyon and then up into Paradise and Magalia.

>Ron Castro, the CTO of Result Radio (its Chico, Redding/Red Bluff and Yuba City-Marysville-Colusa clusters) might be able to shed some light on that. Also Butte County OES could offer info.

>I DO know that Butte Co. currently uses EAS, Twitter, Facebook and the county webpages for OES, FIre and Sheriff's departments to alert and keep people updated on situations. Frequently. I get alerts.

>Due to Butte and Yuba Counties (our home county) sharing a county line in the Sierras and Foothills, I have Oroville and southern Butte Co. as areas monitored by our SAGE. I have received a number of EAS messages passed by Results' Chico cluster stations, which trigger at least one of its Yuba City cluster stations in the city across the river from our community of license.

>I also see alerts on various Butte Co and independent social media I've subscribed to.

>Ted

>Ted Langdell
>94 Three KXYS-LP, Marysville, CA

>>On Dec 31, 2021, at 11:47 PM, Tim Stoffel tim at lionlamb.us> wrote:

>>Was EAS used at all?
>>This sounds like Paradise all over again...

>>Tim Stoffel

>>--

>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: Sean Donelan sean at donelan.com>
>>Reply-to: The EAS Forum eas at radiolists.net>
>>learned

>>No Wireless Emergency Alerts used to notify the public to evacuate in
>>those two towns.

>>Instead, emergency managers posted messages on facebook or twitter,
>>and
>>local media.

>>__________________________________________________________
>>The EAS Forum Discussion List is hosted by the BWWG (Broadcast Warning Working Group). http://eas.radiolists.net
>>Please invite your friends to join our Forum! The sign up is at: https://lists.radiolists.net/mailman/listinfo/eas
>>___________________________________________________________