The cities and joint powers committee of the Kern County grand jury on Jan. 15 released a report praising the city of Ridgecrest, emergency responders and community members for their response to the Ridgecrest earthquakes July 4 and 5, 2019. Titled “City of Ridgecrest: a Whole Lot of Shaking Going On,” the report states under comments “The Committee was impressed and commends the City of Ridgecrest, Kern County OEC, Kern County Sheriff’s Office, Kern County Fire Department, Bakersfield Police Department, other police departments within Kern County, and every citizen who responded to render aid to the city of Ridgecrest.”
The sole recommendation in the report was that the city of Ridgecrest review the city’s emergency operations plan and update if needed to reflect lessons learns from the earthquakes. According to the report, the city’s emergency operations plan was last revised in June 2013.
The purpose of the report was to look at Kern County Emergency Operation Services (EOS) and the city of Ridgecrest’s emergency response program to determine if the earthquake response was sufficient and performed effectively.
To make their determinations, the committee researched media including newspapers, TV news reports and internet news sources about damage and recovery efforts, as well as visiting with city staff and touring the city. The committee also interviewed personnel at the Kern County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Bakersfield.
The committee’s findings include a chronology of events beginning with the magnitude 6.4 foreshock on July 4, 2019. Damage from the July 4 quake included merchandise falling off shelves, mobile homes falling off foundations, broken gas lines causing three fires, power lines falling down and unknown water and sewer line conditions.
The Ridgecrest Police Department initiated the Emergency Response System and notified the Kern County emergency operations center. Many agencies sent aid of various sorts including the Kern County Sheriff’s Office, the Kern County Fire Department, the Bakersfield Police Department and law enforcement officers from other cities. Utility companies were notified and power line and gas crews dispatched to initiate repairs. According to the committee’s report power was restored in about six hours and gas leaks were repaired as they were located. Local 911 calls were temporarily redirected to the county 911 call center and city computer-aided dispatch was temporarily disabled.
According to the report, building inspectors were brought in and the city’s public works department was notified. Water pumps were found to be operating normally and the Indian Wells Valley Water District repaired water leaks. The committee found that the sewage treatment plant at the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake was damaged and there was no sewer service for two days. Public works also inspected roadways and reported damage.
Significant damage after the 7.1 earthquake July 5 included the collapse of the roof at the local movie theater. Multiple county fire department trucks and cal-fire trucks that had been released to return home were called back to the area and all other county agencies remained on scene after the 7.1 quake.
After the Kern County emergency operations center was activated by the director the EOC went to a level 2 activation, which is “a moderate to severe emergency where local resources are not adequate and mutual aid may be required on a regional or statewide basis.” This includes a proclamation of a local emergency and a possible state of emergency proclamation.
Although not mentioned in the committee’s report, the Ridgecrest City Council was scheduled to potentially end of the state of local emergency declaration at its meeting on Jan.15, the same day the report came out.
Ridgecrest Mayor Peggy Breeden commented on the report on the day of its release:
“I am grateful they spoke to so many of our [residents] through all the info they read and saw on social media. Additionally, we have had hundreds and hundreds of first responders from all over the state, Kern county fire and sheriff who all went above and beyond. After the actual quake, there were agencies like the Red Cross, Cal [OES] and others assessing damages and seeking help and assistance. The USGS and their team helped us understand more fully what happened and what may happen in the future and prepare. There are so many others who all we can do is thank and remember to prepare as best we can for what’s next.”
January 15, 2020
Ridgecrest Daily Inpedendent
By Jessica Weston
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