The Alpine Sun - San Diego Neighborhood Newspapers

Supervisors happy with fire response

By Joe Naiman
The Alpine Sun

     Although the San Diego County Board of Supervisors members were not pleased with the fires, which destroyed significant parts of San Diego County, the supervisors gave positive remarks to the response during their Oct. 24 meeting.
     "From a county administration standpoint, you've all been incredible," said Supervisor Dianne Jacob.
     At the time of the Oct. 24 meeting, approximately 600,000 county residents had been evacuated. That figure exceeds the number of New Orleans residents evacuated during Hurricane Katrina.
Shelters had supplies ready for the evacuated residents. "I do think it was remarkable how everything worked," said Supervisor Pam Slater-Price. "Everyone did pull together, and it was wonderful."
     Some of the supervisors' praise went to emergency personnel. "They are doing an incredible job," Jacob said.
     Although the Office of Emergency Services web site, which has a capacity of 5,000,000 Internet hits, overloaded, receiving 9,000,000 hits, the emergency communications system did not suffer the failures, which have plagued past emergency situations.
     The Office of Emergency Services utilized its press release list to inform local reporters and editors of updated situations.
     Jacob also praised the orderly reaction. "I can't say enough about the San Diego community and the way people have behaved," she said.
     Supervisor Greg Cox felt that the response was an improvement over the October 2003 fires. "I think that's certainly a credit to our county staff, the fire fighters that are out there, the fact that people are better prepared," he said. "We learned a lot from 2003."
     The county's "211" system fielded more than 44,000 calls between Oct. 21 and Oct. 23. The 211 system was intended to relieve the emergency "911" system by allowing callers to obtain information. More than 80 volunteers joined professional staff in fielding 211 calls.
     In addition to the 211 service, the county's expenditures since the 2003 fires include the "reverse 911" system which allows for mass notification of residents in the event of an emergency.
     Cox believes that the total amount spent on emergency preparedness exceeds $100 million. "Obviously it's been a big investment, but it's certainly minimized the amount of damage," he said.
The supervisors realize that recovery will not be immediate. "We still have a long way to go with this," said Supervisor Ron Roberts.

Health risks from Firestorm 2007

County's public health officer advises caution
     The ash created by the various October 2007 fires may contain hazardous chemicals, and San Diego County's public health officer is urging caution when handling ash.
     "The ash particle's more than just the wood. It's synthetic materials found in people's homes," said Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county's public heath officer. "The best measure is to protect yourself from the exposure."
     Some of those materials may contain chemicals linked to cancer. The quantity and length of exposure would determine the threshold of causing cancer, and while there is no definite evidence that the ash will cause any additional cancer Wooten notes that precautionary measures will reduce exposure.
     "Any ash will contain small amounts of cancer-causing chemicals, so the best measure is to try to protect yourself," Wooten said.
     That protection against exposure includes contact with skin as well as inhalation, and protective apparel should be worn during clean-up efforts. "People should wear gloves, long-sleeve shirts and long pants to avoid skin contact with the ash material," Wooten said. "Also people should wear a mask."
     Wooten warned that while dust masks protect against finer particles, they must be fit-tested in order to provide optimal protection.
     Wooten noted that wet cloths should be used to clean toys and countertops. Indoor and outdoor floor surfaces should be cleaned with a wet mop, and Wooten recommends spraying a mist on those surfaces prior to commencing the cleaning.
     Wooten also reminded residents to wash pets and food grown on the property. Wooten noted that homegrown food includes gardens as well as fruit trees. Wooten added that parents should not let their children play in or with the ash.
     Wooten also noted that vacuum cleaners should have adequate filters. "The best recommendation is to use a vacuum cleaner that has a HEPA filter," she said.
     Wooten also recommended placing ash in a plastic trash bag before discarding in garbage cans.
     Although the chemicals in the ash might not be sufficient to cause cancer, other health risks also merit precautionary measures. "For those healthy individuals these materials can affect the eyes," Wooten said.
     In addition to producing tears and eye irritation, coughing and nasal congestion can be caused by exposure. The exposure can also exacerbate respiratory and heart problems for people with those conditions.
     Wooten also noted that individuals may opt to let someone else clean up the debris. "If the clean-up is too extreme, people might want to get professional services," she said.
     Wooten advised property owners to coordinate with their insurance companies before contracting for those professional debris removal services.

APCD expects particulate data by early November
     The San Diego Air Pollution Control District will be collecting and analyzing data to determine with more accuracy the amount of particulate matter emitted into the air from the smoke of the fires.
     "We do have meters that are monitoring for the toxics," said Air Pollution Control District public information specialist Anita Tinsley. "It will take a while to have that data."
     Special canisters are used to sample particulate matter, although less detailed information is also being collected in a quicker fashion. "Fortunately for this we have some continuous monitoring that is set up," Tinsley said.
     That monitoring is less accurate but still provides information. "We're using that to try to determine what the levels are," Tinsley said. "Even those we have to get the actual number."
The Air Quality Index is a scale, which does not necessarily reflect specific particulate or gas concentrations.
     An index of zero to 50 is considered good, 51 to 100 is considered moderate, 101 to 150 is called unhealthy for sensitive groups, 151 to 200 is unhealthy, 201 to 300 is very unhealthy, and 301 to 500 is hazardous.
     "During the fire we really did have hazardous conditions," Tinsley said.
     Although the concentration of gaseous pollutants can be measured quickly, particulate matter must be collected and weighed before the amount of particulates can be determined.
     The particulate matter data must also be certified by the California Air Resources Board before it is released. A two-week timeframe is estimated for the collection and certification.
     The preliminary data confirms that particulate matter has been above normal since the fire began. "The particulate levels are up throughout the air basin," Tinsley said. "We're hoping that they're going to get better."

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