January Alumni Hour Discusses LA Fires Response Challenges with Expert Panel

Even as Los Angeles-area fires continued to burn after killing at least 25 people, destroying more than 12,000 structures and burning more than 60 square miles that could be the costliest disaster in California history, the Center for Homeland Defense and Security’s January Alumni Hour featured current and former LA fire and police officials offering their insight into the challenges and demands of battling such a complex disaster.

Moderated by CHDS Master’s Program faculty Chris Bellavita and Lauren Fernandez, the hour-long webinar entitled “Policy/Strategy Implications of the LA Fires,” was conducted on Zoom on Thursday, Jan. 15 and featured a panel that included LA Fire Deputy Chief Richard Fields and Redondo Beach Fire Chief Patrick Butler, who are both Master’s alums, and CHDS Emergence Program Director Cynthia Renaud, a former Santa Monica Police Chief and longtime Long Beach Police officer who is also a CHDS alum.

From the top: Richard Fields, Cynthia Renaud, and Patrick Butler

The webinar drew more than 200 participants including the Emergence cohort 2401 which was in-residence during the week.

CHDS Strategic Communications Director Heather Hollingsworth kicked off the webinar by reminding attendees about February’s upcoming annual APEX event and announcing the launch of a new CHDS Live Network Slack channel focusing on the LA fires and offering CHDS community an opportunity to collaborate in real time.

Fernandez and Bellavita introduced the panel and outlined the agenda for the webinar, noting that it was focused on “sense-making” rather than “problem-solving.” They also described the webinar as a “platform” for additional engagement on the issue from Slack channel discussions and Homeland Security Affairs Journal articles to subsequent webinars on related individual topics.

A series of 10 topics were offered for discussion including Emergency Communications and Coordination; Command, Control, Coordination Challenges; Mass Evacuation Management; Critical Infrastructure Vulnerability; Long-Term Recovery Planning; Vulnerable Population Protection; Critical Supply Chain Disruption; Water Infrastructure Security; Law Enforcement Resource Allocation; and Public Health System Impacts.

In a twist, attendees were invited to vote online regarding which order the topics would be discussed.

In response to questions from Bellavita and comments submitted during an active chat session, the three panelists shared their views and expertise on the topics by tapping their experience with past and current fires and other incidents ranging from challenges with emergency communications and command coordination to lessons learned from past mass evacuations, law enforcement assistance, and long-term recovery.

The panelists shared personal stories from their experiences fighting fires over the years from watching a bulldozer push aside stranded vehicles to reach the frontlines to searching through a home for a young girl’s scoliosis brace and violin, with the latter prompting Butler to say if he could make a small impact like that in the midst of a disaster he would end the day on a “high note.”

Renaud argued that LA is still in the midst of a “critical incident,” and the “crisis is coming.”

“We need to make sense of what’s happened before we can know what recovery looks like.”

Bellavita concluded the webinar by acknowledging the “massive” number of topics being raised for discussion in the online chat and noting that they could serve as the basis for several additional webinars, while Fernandez pointed out that a key issue mentioned on the chat was the implications of the disaster for public health, and Fields said he was heartened to see such participation, praising the “active CHDS community” as a valuable resource for he and other first responders.

INQUIRIES: Heather Hollingsworth, Communications and Recruitment | hissvora@nps.edu, 831-402-4672 (PST)

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