Motorola Knowledge Event Series 2018
Cascading events in California, 2017–18 - Proceedings

May 2018

Communication, collaboration and coordination were the key themes that emerged at the AFAC Knowledge Event Series, supported by Motorola Solutions.

The series, presented at eight locations across Australia and New Zealand in May and June 2018, provided an international perspective from Kim Zagaris, California’s State Fire and Rescue Chief at the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES).

Chief Zagaris discussed the drought, fire and flood events that occurred in California in 2017 and 2018, natural hazards familiar to participants across Australia and New Zealand.

Resource sharing and training collaboration were central to the series. The recent events in California highlighted an emerging reliance on resource sharing, which is enhanced when paired with cross-agency consistency in training and development.

With climate related disasters requiring the evacuation of 400,000 Californian residents in 2017 alone, Chief Zagaris said there is a clear need for effective public communication planning. Each disaster is as unique as the community it affects, and Cal OES Public Information Officers customised communication plans to build trust and help prepare affected communities for the recovery process.

The ability to communicate is crucial to emergency operations, and with around 80 per cent of 911 calls during these California events coming from mobile phones, planning for the stability of cellular networks was identified as especially important.

The Knowledge Series also explored how weather hazards impacted each other. For example, it was clear that the Californian drought influenced extreme fire behaviour, but not as immediate was the region’s increased susceptibility to flooding and erosion due to the same drought.

With fire, law, emergency medical, community support, military and emergency management resources coming together in response to California’s natural disasters, coordination between these agencies must be effective. Collaboration proved critical both for better utilising available assets and supporting members of the community in the recovery effort.