Implications of the California Wildfires for Health, Communities, and Preparedness Proceedings of a Workshop (2020) / Chapter Skim
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6 Enhancing Operational Response
6 Enhancing Operational Response
Pages 71-84
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From page 71... ...
The response to disasters, including wildfires, can encompass a wide range of activities. The four presenters at the workshop who discussed operational response therefore framed their remarks in specific contexts: protecting people from wildfire smoke, detecting and treating mental health conditions, treating burns, and taking advantage of the expertise of public health departments.
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From page 72... ...
The AQI is based on both ozone and PM2.5 levels, and the AQI, though often reported hourly, cannot be calculated without estimating 24-hour data for PM2.5, which requires a model that adds complexity to the measure. Though Balmes did not suggest a replacement for the AQI, he said that he tends to think in terms of micrograms per meter cubed, "because I understand the health effects of that and what those levels mean." In a report reviewing the evidence involving advisory messages on wildfire smoke, the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (2014)
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From page 73... ...
On Friday afternoon, October 13, during the Tubbs Fire, the AQI level was near 200 in the San Francisco Bay Area. UC Berkeley issued an email to all of the faculty and staff saying that they should stay inside, not exercise outdoors, and consider wearing an N95 mask if they had to go outside.
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From page 74... ...
Even for people with preexisting heart disease, 12,000 would need to wear masks to prevent one health care utilization event, and for people without preexisting heart or lung disease, 1 million people would have to wear N95 masks properly to prevent one health care utilization. Balmes quoted Fisk and Chan (2017, p.
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From page 75... ...
Furthermore, local responders get a "double whammy," in that they are affected through their response role and in their own lives as community members. In addition, people can have preexisting mental illnesses, severe emotional disturbance, or health and social disparities, all of which interact with their experiences during disasters.
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From page 76... ...
The tool matches up to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's predictive analytics, so it generates the numbers of people at risk subdivided by children and first responders. Then a gap analysis can determine how to scale a response.
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From page 77... ...
The United States is divided into five regions that each have regional disaster teams. Disaster triage tables provide guidelines for immediate care, triage algorithms, and acute transportation guidelines.
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From page 78... ...
The Western Region Burn Disaster Consortium triage network was activated. At that point, four staffed beds were immediately available in all of northern California for burn patients.
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From page 79... ...
The UC Davis Veterinary Emergency Response Team was also under severe pressure, Palmieri said. The most serious cases were transferred to UC Davis, including eight goats, two pigs, four horses, a llama, chickens, ducks, geese, and cats.
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From page 80... ...
It provides training to the Department of Public Health's staff and partners, maintains 24/7 readiness to respond to emergencies and coordinate public health responses, attains and manages emergency preparedness grant funding, and conducts and coordinates public health emergency responses. In the most recent hazard vulnerability assessment, extreme heat and wildfires were at the top of the division's priorities.
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From page 81... ...
But people in more hidden populations were also strongly affected, Fogleman said, along with those in the "Malibu mansions." On the day the fire started, Department of Public Health first responders received notification of a growing wildfire in Ventura County and anticipated that the fire would spread into Los Angeles County. They deployed to a field command post and briefed a policy group consisting of public health officials, who stood up the emergency management structure.
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From page 82... ...
In response to another question, Fogleman described the Empower database, which is used to track Medicare beneficiaries who have durable medical equipment in their home, and getting that information to first responders. The department works with its partner agencies to let them know about vulnerable people in an evacuation area.
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From page 83... ...
"As planners, responders, and stakeholders, we need to be planning and paying particular attention to how we will identify pediatric patients at highest risk for developing psychiatric symptoms after these disasters." Messaging and communication are among the many concerns during the operational response to any disaster, and particularly wildfires, she added. Public health messaging can help those who are affected understand evacuation orders, how to avoid injury, and overall protection strategies.
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