An ad hoc committee went before the Board of Supervisors a couple of weeks back, requesting some action. We got a polite thank you and some blank stares.
The Ukiah Chamber of Commerce held a forum on September 13 at which happy-faced representatives of PGandE, Redwood Oil Company, Pac Bell, the County Office of Education, Ukiah schools, the City of Ukiah, Savings Bank of Mendocino County, Mendo-Lake Credit Union, the Ukiah Valley Medical Center and the Mendocino Emergency Services Authority (MESA) told the audience that all is well; we have nothing to worry about.
Then when the audience started asking questions, we heard that, well, if there are toxic spills, the Fire Department will take care of it and, well, no, we haven't checked the foreign sources for most of the ingredients in the medications we might need and, well, the local power grid is okay, but who knows what may happen to the larger grids that feed into it and, well, no, we aren't stockpiling food, but we have plenty of places to put it if we do, but do you want your tax money spent on something like that?Ð etc.
The word is that the Red Cross is scared and I think it's fair to say that we can't count on government, public utilities or other public institutions either to understand what's going on or to be able to do anything about it. That means it's up to the neighborhoods and the communities. So what's happening on that scene?
The Ukiah Y2K preparedness group is doing a study of emergency equipment prices and is considering another public forum. Members of the Ukiah group met with representatives of Ukiah Natural Foods (the Co-op) and determined that the store is developing a comprehensive plan to deal with Y2K issues. The store, which has space for a normal 30-day supply of food, is already offering special prices on some bulk items as well as plastic buckets suitable for food storage. One point made was that sprouts can be a good food source, convenient and easy to produce. The store has seeds as well as the necessary devices (jars) available for sprouting, and is looking at increasing their seed supply.
Potter Valley has three community gardens going, with winter crops in the ground. One person determined that the health clinic there is totally unprepared. There are plans for surveys to determine where frail elderly and shut-in people are and to seek out fuel storage facilities.
In Willits, the local group is working with the Red Cross, getting trained to be able to open a shelter if that becomes necessary. They're casting around among churches and schools to find out what may be available in the way of shelter. They're meeting with local ham radio operators and learning what those folks can do if communications break down. They have brochures on disaster preparedness from the Red Cross as well as 17,000 leaflets on the same topic. They're putting the leaflets in envelopes and giving them to the schools to distribute via the students.
Rick Paige of MESA has training and information available for NESTs, Neighborhood Emergency Service Teams, which can be set up anyplace in the county (call Rick at 463-5630 for information). There are moves in that direction here and there. Leggett has a NEST; Covelo is in training; one started in Russian River Estates but isn't functioning any more; Willits has a solid effort going; there are rumored to be efforts underway south of Ft. Bragg and in Gualala. Ukiah has been meeting and one person is thinking about a NEST for the south end of town.
To become certified as a NEST, a group has to divide up emergency service training among its members and they all have to complete their training. Once certified, a NEST is eligible to receive a support kit from MESA. The kit includes a search and rescue outfit, a medical emergency kit for up to fifty people, survival equipment, including shelter and cleanliness items, boxes of water and some food.
It's probably fair to say that as January 1 approaches there will be more interest in what may happen. If so, preparations could speed up some. But we need to avoid any last minute panic. It would have been nice to have everybody panic awhile back, six months ago say, and have it over with, but it's a little late for that now. We simply need to be ready. That's how we'll avert panic.
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 1999
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited