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Approximately three weeks following the November 2007 Cosco Busan oil spill, the Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services (OES) presented to the Board of Supervisors its assessment of the emergency response efforts, including what worked well and didn’t work well, and what lessons were learned through those experiences. On February 5, 2008 the Board of Supervisors referred this matter to the PPC for continued oversight.
In January 2008, the Board of Supervisors referred to the PPC the matter of improving public response to emergency instructions and protocols through broader and better education, which had previously been on referral to the IOC.
In April 2015, the PPC received an update on emergency response coordination. The included an update on the coordination between the Office of Emergency Services and the Contra Costa Health Services Hazardous Materials program. |
Over the past five years, the Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services has worked to improve emergency management coordination and response, public alert and warning, and EOC operations. These steps have included focused training, coordinated partner agency engagements, and system/ facility improvements.
Since 2017 emergency incidents and events that have impacting Contra Costa County have increased in frequency and impact. Responding to these events has amplified the expertise level and preparedness within the County entities responsible for emergency response. Recent examples include:
2017 - Major winter storms caused significant damages throughout the County resulting in three federally declared disasters.
2017 - North Bay Wildfires (Tubbs, Atlas, and Nuns).
2018 - Paradise County (Paradise) fire – Mutual aid response from Contra Costa.
2019 - Multiple Public Safety Power Shut Offs
2019 - Sonoma fires
2019 - Nu-Star fire – Crockett
2020 - Public Safety Power Shut Offs
2020 - SCU/ LNU Fire Complexes, including mutual aid to other counties.
2020/ 2021 - COVID-19 extended EOC activation
EOC Preparation:
In the review of the emergency management response to the 2017 wildfires, the after-action reviews focused on the challenges the Sonoma County EOC faced in quickly gaining situational awareness of the fast-moving wildfires. This in turn slowed down critical evacuation decisions. As a result, Contra Costa OES EOC exercise and training has focused on developing the ability to rapidly assess and understand critical impacts events have locally.
The Office of Emergency Services continuously conducts and hosted emergency management training for new and existing EOC staff. Most of this training was funded through State Homeland Security and Bay Area UASI grants. When not activated for COVID-19 we have offered training that has focused on EOC intermediate EOC operations, unified command, EOC action planning, situational awareness, and building common operating procedures. When feasible, some of this training has been offered virtually. This training has focused on training new staff on EOC operations and building the capabilities of experienced staff. Additionally, Contra Costa OES participated and supported several boots on the ground evacuation exercises with local fire and law enforcement agencies over the past two years.
Contra Costa OES has increased our cooperation and coordination with other operational area stakeholders as well. Previously we conducted a quarterly Operational Area Council meeting with local emergency management organizations, State partners and special districts. The intent of this meeting was to share best practices, update our partners on on-going issues and seek feedback. In 2019, we increased the frequency to monthly and transitioned to a Multi-Agency Coordination meeting that follows the format of EOC activation meetings. This has greatly increased the interaction, coordination and collaboration of all emergency management partners in Contra Costa County.
In 2018, Contra Costa OES adopted Web EOC as the standard crisis management software. Web EOC allows users to make resource requests, track incidents and stay informed of impacts. Our operational partners also have received access and training to Web EOC. This has greatly increased our ability to collaborate and share information throughout the County. We have successfully used this during EOC activations and other smaller events. This platform has become the go-to place for Contra Costa jurisdictions to receive real-time updates on emergency impacts and seek resources during emergencies.
COVID-19:
The response to COVID-19 was the longest sustained EOC activation in the County's history. Over 200 different County employees responded to and worked in the EOC over this activation. There were close to 11,000 unique resource requests that were processed through the EOC that filled a myriad of critical needs. This included acquiring and providing critical PPE to both the government and private sectors.
This activation tested the ability to sustain an EOC over a significant period. Our experience from the previous activations set us up for success during this extended activation. While County Health Services was the lead in the County's COVID response, multiple County stakeholders were critical during this response. We had learned during previous wildfire and PSPS activations that coordination and information sharing with affected organizations is a key to success. The COVID-19 EOC successfully focused on information sharing and coordinated communications across all levels of the response organizations. This was done through a combination of virtual and in-person coordination meetings, consistent use of WEB EOC to share information, and a collaborative unified command in the EOC.
The extended activation, while challenging, provided a wealth of activation experience for personnel assigned over the months-long activation. We have increased the number of County staff who have EOC experience and will be assets in future activations and emergencies.
New EOC:
In August of 2020, Contra Costa OES moved into a new state-of-the-art Emergency Operations Center. This facility greatly enhances the County's ability to respond to large incidents. There is a larger space and improved technology that enhances collaboration and information sharing. The open design and multiple meeting spaces supports shared situational awareness and better understanding of events impacting the region. In turn, quicker decisions can be turned into better responses to emergencies.
Moving forward, we will continue to train and integrate personnel to work in the new EOC facility. With the COVID-19 restrictions lifting we plan to expand in-person EOC training to build our capacity and depth. In addition, we are developing technology to enhance our ability to share information seamlessly from the County EOC to Department Operations Centers and City-run EOC's.
Conclusion:
Contra Costa OES will continue to emphasize multi-agency coordination before emergencies through consistent interaction with our local planning partners. We will continue to focus emergency management training on EOC operations with a focus on developing depth and increasing capabilities. Our recent experiences with wildfires, winter storms, PSPS's and COVID-19, while challenging, have provided the experience to build on. |