Looking back at 1906 – and to our future

Authorities stress need to prepare
By PETE MORTENSEN, News Editor
The 100th anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake
serves as a reminder of the likelihood another major earthquake
will one day wreak havoc on Sonoma County and the greater Bay
Area.
With the exact time and date of such a shaking impossible to
guess with any precision, the responsibility lies with every
resident of Windsor to be prepared to survive on their own, local
authorities say.
&#8220We just simply aren’t going to have enough personnel
to do it,” said Windsor Fire Chief Ron Collier. He said residents
are encouraged to assemble supplies to survive for 72 hours, which
is considered the critical window of time before order could be
restored. That includes a sufficient, secure water supply,
non-perishable food that can be consumed without electricity or
fuel and other basic essentials, he said.
In the event of a disaster, Town leaders would open the
Emergency Operations Center at the fire station on Hembree Lane,
Collier said.
&#8220That’s where we go into our defensive posture to make
sure that everybody is effective,” he said. &#8220We would try
and keep our community together and assess the needs based on the
damage.”
Educating the public about disaster preparedness is a priority
for Windsor, Town Manager Matt Mullan said, but rather than try to
promote a standalone event focused on the subject, Town leaders
elected to make the subject a strong component of the Windsor Day
Parade and Festival on May 13.
&#8220What the disaster pros tell us is, if you have an even
just for disaster prevention, the only people who show up are the
people who do what you ask them anyway,” he said. &#8220This
way we’re reaching a whole bunch of other people who perhaps
wouldn’t have come out.”
Among the groups participating in the presentations May 13 will
be the Windsor Fire Protection District, the Windsor Police
Department, the American Red Cross of Sonoma County and the Sonoma
County Office of Emergency Services. Windsor Police Chief Steve
Freitas said his department is also working on organizing Community
Emergency Response Teams (CERT), which would be skilled groups of
volunteers who could respond locally before professional help
arrives. He said the effort will ramp up once two events are
complete: the Windsor Day festivities and then a June 28 exercise
of the Emergency Operations Center for training purposes.
Organizing the CERT groups will entail discovering which sorts
of skills are present in a given area, Freitas said. By talking
with active neighborhood leaders, organizers can find the most
helpful volunteers.
&#8220It would not be a first-responder, a cop or
fireperson,” he said. &#8220You look for people in the
neighborhood training in CPR or first aid, that have tools to get
people within that neighborhood to work on putting a lid on things.
Š That’s kind of what it’s based on, getting neighborhoods to help
each other until the first-responders are able to get there.”
Freitas recently attended informative sessions on the area’s
susceptibility to another major earthquake, and the figures are not
optimistic.
&#8220The chance of a major earthquake by 2030 is about 60
percent,” he said.
The only way to mitigate that risk is through preparing the
public, Freitas said.
&#8220The statistic is that only 10 percent of the general
public is prepared to survive for 72 hours without help,” he said.
&#8220Our goals through the event May 13 is to get that number
higher and help them get the basics for themselves.”
For more information on preparing for an emergency, visit
www.windsorfire.net.