As Fires Raged, Employees Scrambled to Help Victims

10 years After Wildfires, Lessons Learned Help Prepare County for Future Disasters 

Local Assistance Center veteran Carey Riccitelli took this picture of the Fallbrook LAC in operation during the 2007 wildfires. 

They arrived with soot on their faces. Some had lost homes or businesses.

Some of the 2003 wildfire victims arriving at the County’s Local Assistance Centers (LACs) were crying, while others were dazed or overwhelmed.

“You could see it in their face, they were lost and didn’t know where to go,” said Randall Krogman, Administrative Services Manager II with the Department of Animal Services.

Within days of those devastating wildfires sparking, Krogman was assisting victims at one of the County’s new Local Assistance Centers. It was the first time the County had launched the one-stop-shop resource centers, which are designed to offer a full range of services to victims.

Krogman co-managed the LAC in Valley Center during the 2003 wildfires, and roved between the Ramona and Fallbrook LACs during the 2007 wildfires.

Nearly a decade ago in October 2003, the fires had come on with great speed and ferocity. Employees responded quickly and heroically. But as with any new endeavor, they scrambled to respond to evolving—and unpredictable--needs and conditions.

“We knew we were disaster service workers, but nobody really knew what that meant,” said Carey Riccitelli, a Community Health Promotion Manager with HHSA assigned to the LACs during the 2003 and 2007 fires. “We hadn’t seen it in action.”

The County has come a long way since those early days of Local Assistance Centers. Today, hundreds of employees have been pre-assigned roles and extensively trained on how to manage and operate LACs when the need arises. A series of trainings are underway again this month in advance of peak wildfire season. About 150 employees are taking the two hour refresher classes designed to give an overview of how to manage and operate the LACs.

Leslie Luke, a Group Program Manager with the County’s Office of Emergency Services, said three separate teams are trained to staff and run a LAC, in addition to a team ready to oversee them. The County has also readied employees to work in the County’s Emergency Operations Center and volunteers to staff 2-1-1, the free 24 hour information hotline and database.

The LAC training began as part of a broader effort called the Advanced Post-Disaster Recovery Initiative. Approved in 2011, the initiative aims to better prepare the region for natural and man-made disasters and speed up recovery efforts. Among the key components is pre-training groups of employees to help citizens recover from disasters, restore community lifelines such as water and power and rebuild communities.

Back in 2003, employees had not been trained in how to run a LAC. But within a few days of the fires starting, many were tapped to go work at one of the first LACs being established in trailers, schools and community centers. They set up the centers so that residents went to FEMA first, then Red Cross for immediate needs such as food, blankets, hotel vouchers and sandbags. Then residents would go to any County departments or agencies for permits or more information. A counselor was available to help with mental health services.

Some victims were “totally devastated” and had lost everything, Krogman said, while others had lost some or all of their small businesses. Others had lost a water tank or trailer on their property. There were homeless people who arrived looking for help too.

Some victims were not accustomed to or comfortable asking for help, Krogman said.  They spoke a variety of languages—and there weren’t enough translators.

Others walked in with their children and needed child care assistance while they got help.

The LACs were very crowded when residents first found out they were there, Krogman said. The crowds kept flowing in. Daily traffic ranged from 70 to 300 residents a day, he said.

“We made it up as we went along,” Krogman said. “Fortunately, the County has a lot of resources so we were able to get what we needed as we went along.”

Employees’ roles were defined along the way, Riccitelli said.

John Rosenthal, Community Relations Manager for the Department of Child Support Services, was dispatched to the Ramona LAC in 2003 to help with communications and media relations. He did whatever work was needed, from carting bottles of water, distributing food to residents to checking in with the County’s then Department of Media and Public Relations.

After 2003, the County used many of the lessons learned to prepare for future disasters. Rosenthal and others used that experience and knowledge when the 2007 wildfires came around.

At the LACs, everyone had a better understanding of the impact such an event could have on residents and communities, Riccitelli said.

“It wasn’t just you need shelter and food, it was wow, you’ve been through a crisis,” she said. “It felt more cohesive, more community oriented…People felt like the County was their friend in this.”

The planning and training has only gotten more sophisticated.

The Office of Emergency Services has worked to identify any gaps in the system at LACs. They asked LAC workers what would have made their jobs easier, and as a result added translators, and an ombudsman and chaplain to each LAC staffing plan. LAC staff members also wear vests identifying their roles and have been trained to approach residents who are alone or in need of help.

“We tried to identify every aspect of what didn’t work, what did work and what would be nice to have and tried to add that,” Luke said.

Over the years, the LACs have become more and more focused on the survivor. The number of agencies and nonprofits prepared to respond has grown too. And if LAC staffers haven’t made it to an in person training, they can view a series of online videos on the County’s Office of Emergency Services website to prepare.

“A lot of our lessons were just in time,” Luke said. “We were reactionary. Now we can be more proactive.”

Of course, something new and different is always going to come up—that’s how you grow, Luke said.

“But we’re in a better position now,” Luke said. “We learn from each one of these events and we adjust and adapt.”

As challenging as it was to work at LACs during the devastating wildfires, Krogman said it was also the most gratifying experience he’s had as a County employee.

“You get to see and help the victims face-to-face, and you’re able to see how many needs they have,” and help them directly, he said. “You get emotionally attached and invested in what you’re doing. It was very rewarding.”