Santa Cruz County, California (KION) The Santa Cruz County Grand Jury released a report after investigating how the county government responded to the needs and concerns of victims of the CZU Lightning Complex fire.
The
fire began on August 16, 2020, when a dry thunderstorm storm struck parts of
California. The lightning caused fires around the state, including the CZU
Lightning Complex, the largest fire in county history. The fire burned 63,754
acres and destroyed 1,431. Over 900 buildings were homes.
Tad
Jones, a resident of a county, died in a fire. The grand jury tried to leave
when the evacuation order was issued, but reported that the one-lane road he
had to use had already been blocked by a fire. The grand jury said he went to
the place where Calfire told the inhabitants to go in case of a fire, but when
no one seemed to come, he tried to go to Big Basin to get out. did. According
to the report, the rescue vehicle has never reached clearing. Jones’s body was
found in a burnt-out car a few days later.
More
than 70,000 people were evacuated due to the fire.
On
October 6, 2020, the Santa Cruz County Supervisory Board resolved to establish
a response, recovery and resilience office to assist the victims, and the grand
jury received positive feedback on the program. He said, but he announced the
work of government leaders responsible for CalFire’s past actions and
preparation for future events.
The
grand jury has started the investigation and announced the results of seven
investigations after receiving complaints from residents that “I don’t know
what’s wrong and I haven’t heard from local leaders.”
The
grand jury discovered the following:
Residents
are concerned about responding to wildfires and preparing for future events. We
also found that supervisors were unaware that they were responsible for
addressing community concerns.
There
were differences in the content and depth of the analysis between the
presentations at CalFire’s virtual community meetings at San Mateo and Santa
Cruz County.
Supervisors
did not respond appropriately to community concerns and questions.
Supervisors
are not responsible for the lack of analysis of performance during the fire.
Currently,
the contract between the county and Cal Fire does not provide for post-fire
post-season reporting.
Supervisor’s
response to 2020 findings and recommendations “Are you ready? Aim? Set on
fire!” The report provides an understanding of the lack of involvement in the
material and their role. Indicates a lack.
The
adequacy of resources for future firefighting is questionable due to
uncertainties in mutual aid support, the deployment and management of volunteer
companies, and the availability of funds.
The
grand jury also issued some recommendations for the supervisory board.
Supervisors
should challenge Cal Fire in case of a future fire, challenge their response to
the CZU Lightning Complex, and conduct an investigation to answer community
questions and concerns within the next 30 days.
Supervisors
should adopt policies to handle and record resident complaints and questions.
Supervisors
must request a follow-up report of all major CalFire incidents within the next
six months.
Supervisors
should instruct staff to develop a public lesson document outlining Cal Fire’s
investigation and action plans for upcoming events and improved response over
the next 90 days.
Supervisors
need to rethink their response to 2020’s “ready, aim, or ignite”. Please report
and rewrite their answers by December 31st in the document posted on their
website.
Supervisors
should instruct staff to advocate additional fire reserve funding and
preventive resources from the state within six months.
But
it’s not all bad news for the people involved. Grand jury recognizes and
praises the courage of life-threatening firefighters at the CZU Lightning
Complex, and the response, resilience and resilience offices do a great job of
providing information and resources on their websites and speed He said he had
developed an excellent ability to transform. Permits and rebuilds.
California
News Times
June 25, 2021
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