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Ventura County participates in a statewide disaster exercise
By Ventura County Sheriff Department — Wednesday, May 9th, 2012
 Ventura County Sheriff's Department Beginning at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 16, 2012, the County of Ventura will participate in the statewide Golden Guardian disaster exercise by activating the County Operational Area Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The exercise scenario is based on a 7.8 magnitude earthquake along the San Andreas fault with the epicenter near the community of Gorman, an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County bordering Ventura County. “The purpose of activating the Ventura County Emergency Operations Center is to test and evaluate our ability to respond to and recover from a catastrophic earthquake,” said Commander Tim Hagel, EOC Director. The Golden Guardian 2012 exercise will involve participation from seven Southern Region Operational Areas including Ventura County. Ventura County’s 6-hour exercise will include representatives from 34 different jurisdictions, volunteer organizations, special districts, university/colleges and businesses. Twelve various emergency operations facilities will be activated to coordinate resource requests and information on damages. According to Laura Hernandez, Assistant Director for the Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services, who is in charge of the exercise, “Golden Guardian 2012 is the largest EOC exercise ever held by the County. This exercise provides us an opportunity to practice our plans for both natural and man-made disasters.” Golden Guardian 2012 exercise participants will be working on major issues that are expected to follow a large earthquake such as damage assessment, secondary fires, landslides, hazardous material releases, road closures, evacuations, debris removal, water shortages, spontaneous volunteer management, and public information. In addition to major issues, Ventura County will also be exercising several communications tools including WebEOC. WebEOC is an internet-based application that allows emergency operations centers to share real-time information during a disaster. “We will use WebEOC to monitor significant events, damage to critical facilities, road closures and obtain a good understanding of the emergency needs in our community,” said Hagel. The exercise in Ventura County will start at 7:30 a.m. and end at 2:00 p.m. The exercise will conclude with a debriefing to identify opportunities to improve plans, policies and procedures. “It is our goal to continuously improve operations during training or actual incidents,” said Sheriff Geoff Dean, Director of Emergency Services. “Our residents are depending on us.” The Golden Guardian exercise is also an excellent opportunity to remind residents to be prepared for natural and man-made disasters. “Residents can do a lot to prepare themselves by getting an emergency supply kit, making a family communications plan, and being informed of the local hazards in our area,” said Dean. For more information on disaster preparedness in Ventura County, please visit the Ready Ventura County website at www.readyventuracounty.org. This website will display current information in the event an emergency, educate residents on the hazards in our area, and provide a resource on how to prepare, respond and recover from a disaster. Information is also posted on the Ready Ventura County Facebook (www.facebook.com/readyvc) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/readyvc) accounts. Nature of Incident: Ventura County participates in a statewide disaster exercise Media Release Date: Follow-Up Contact: Approved by: |
