When it comes to preparing for, responding to and recovering from a natural or man-made disaster, the city of Hawthorne, Calif., is ready to swing into action thanks to a comprehensive emergency preparedness program.

“The most common emergency that the city prepares for is earthquakes, due to the frequency and severity of earthquakes in our region. However, we prepare for all natural and man-made disasters through training and tabletop exercises,” said City Manager Vontray Norris.

A cohesive plan

Codified through a city ordinance and encompassing all relevant departments, including police, public works, engineering, community services, finance and county fire, Hawthorne’s emergency services program maximizes municipal resources whenever a disaster occurs. Specific duties are assigned to the director of emergency services – for example, the city manager – who then directs all coordinated responsibilities to the emergency preparedness coordinator. The EPC is the city liaison for all emergency-related activities and represents the city in dealings with public and private agencies pertaining to emergency matters.

 Norris said that the EPC interacts with all levels of government during emergency situations and coordinates with county officials through various communications systems such as the Operational Area Response and Recovery Systems and the National Emergency Management System/Standardized Emergency Management System to provide real-time communication to affiliated partners,

“The EPC’s responsibilities also include training city employees in how to handle emergencies in the workplace and home,” said Norris.

Representatives from the city also meet monthly with the Area G coordinator and Alert South Bay to conduct various training activities and tabletop exercises and learn how to send message notifications to residents in the event of an emergency. Alert South Bay is a regional notification platform that keeps 15 South Bay cities up to date on events that may impact homes, workplaces and schools.

“The EPC also meets with the city’s Community Emergency Response Team volunteers about deploying and assisting with disasters,” said Norris. “The city provides annual CERT training to its residents and as the severity and frequency of natural and man-made disasters increases, the city will continue to respond, adapt and update the city’s plan accordingly.”

All fired up

While the recent wildfires across Los Angeles County did not have a direct impact on Hawthorne’s emergency preparedness program, the crisis did cause city officials and emergency response teams to look at the various situations that could impact the community in the future. Norris said that although wildfires have never been an issue for Hawthorne, the recent crisis prompted them to look for additional ways to prepare for any situation that could happen.

“During the wildfires, we culled someone from each department to come up with ways that Hawthorne could help, even though it wasn’t impacting us in a big way like it did to cities that are much closer to direct impact zones,” said Norris. “We looked for ways our city was able to volunteer, donate or anything that residents were able to do.”

Thankfully, Hawthorne has its own media department, which was not only able to gather information from online sources and pass it on through social media platforms, but the city also owns two public access cable channels that allow residents to stay up to date with any Hawthorne-related news. Norris said that during the wildfires, the city interrupted regularly scheduled programming to broadcast wildfire-related news and information.

“One of our channels is a dedicated 24/7 bulletin channel where you will see nothing but graphics to all Hawthorne news. During these times, we posted information about where residents could donate cloths, water, toiletries and anything people might need. Air quality information was also updated every morning and evening, along with resource information as to the locations of shelters if needed, organizations collecting money, where to place or find lost pets, etc.,” he said.

Always evolving

In light of recent wildfires, the city activated its Emergency Operations Center in City Hall virtually, while the police department activated its EOC with in-person staff to monitor the city. Norris said he was in constant communication with Brandy Villanueva, the disaster management area coordinator for Area G to report on any issues affecting the city of Hawthorne. Villanueva then reported on any issues that were affecting the county’s EOC and the residual effects that might impact local municipalities. However, it is an ever-evolving plan.

“We are always updating our emergency plan with guidance from federal, state and local agencies,” said Norris. “We feel that investing in emergency preparedness is a valuable asset because when a disaster occurs, we want to be proactive and protect life and property.”

For communities working to implement or improve an emergency preparedness program, Norris said that knowledge is power.

“Know your city. Know what resources you have available locally and work calmly with your respected coworkers,” he said. “It’s all about #TEAMWORK.”

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