All Hazards

  In this episode (#97) we talk with Cal OES Fire and Rescue Chief Brian Marshall. With an impressive 30 plus year background in emergency management, Chief Marshall has been serving with Cal OES since 2019. With California heading into its peak fire season, our discussion with Chief Marshall couldn't have come at a more relevant time. He provided us with valuable insights into how Cal OES is meticulously preparing to ensure a safe and secure fire season for everyone in the state. The episode takes you on a journey through Chief Marshall's remarkable career, which had its origins in Kern County. Over the course of 30 plus years in emergency management, he has gathered invaluable experience that led him to Cal OES. Since taking up his role in 2019, Chief Marshall has been entrusted with overseeing the California Fire and Rescue Mutual Aid System. This critical system involves the strategic deployment of a vast fleet of over 270 fire engines across more than 60 local government partners, ready to respond to all-hazard events statewide. During an incident, when local government fire agencies reach capacity, the mutual aid system brings in additional resources to help respond and keep communities safe. LINKS Cal OES Fire and Rescue Cal OES Fire Operations Cal OES Firescope FIRIS

This episode (#96) of All Hazards gives us a view of Cal OES’s mission through a legal lens. We sit down with Cal OES Chief Counsel Jennifer Bollinger. She covers everything from how she became an attorney, and how she came to Cal OES and why she’s here for the long term. Daily life as a lawyer for state government is one thing - life at Cal OES is another; it’s fast paced, exciting and very challenging. Jennifer goes over all of it, from the time she joined the agency as a staff attorney to now as chief counsel.   Fun fact - Jennifer has a weight bench in her office!   Jennifer L. Bollinger, 40, of Sacramento, has been appointed Chief Counsel at the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. Bollinger has been Chief Counsel at the Department of General Services since 2020. Bollinger was Assistant Chief Counsel at the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services from 2018 to 2020. She was Board Counsel at the California Fire and Rescue Training Authority from 2016 to 2019. Bollinger held several positions at the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services from 2017 to 2018, including Acting Assistant Chief Counsel, Senior Counsel and Acting Contracts and Procurement Division Chief. She was a Financial Services and Business Litigation Attorney at LeClairRyan from 2015 to 2016. Bollinger was an Attorney at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System from 2013 to 2015 and at the California State Teachers’ Retirement System from 2010 to 2013. Bollinger held several positions at Porter Scott Attorneys from 2008 to 2010, including Litigation Associate and Legal Intern. Bollinger earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. Links JC-319482 - Senior Counsel  ATTORNEY III Final Filing Date: 8/25/2022 https://www.calcareers.ca.gov/CalHrPublic/Jobs/JobPosting.aspx?JobControlId=319482 Cal OES Legal Affairs Podcast #71: Cal OES Legal Chief Alex Pal Sets High Bar to Help Ensure a Resilient California  

This episode (#95) takes us to Greenville, California, where efforts to recover from the Dixie and Beckwourth Complex fires are accelerating as the finish lines comes into view. We talk with Cole Glenwright, Cal OES Recovery Operations Section Chief, who gives us some hopeful news about the final stretch in the marathon that is recovery in Plumas and Lassen Counties.  The Dixie Fire erupted near Dixie Road in Butte County. It grew to an enormous wildfire that also burned in Plumas, Lassen, Shasta, and Tehama Counties, The fire began in the Feather River Canyon near Cresta Dam on July 13, 2021, and burned 963,309 acres before being 100% contained on October 25, 2021. It was the largest single (i.e. non-complex) wildfire in California history, and the second-largest wildfire overall (after the August Complex fire of 2020.) Links Plumas County Wildfire Recovery  CalRecycle  Team Rubicon  Sierra Institute California Conservation Corps   

  In this episode (#97) we talk with the new Cal OES Law Branch chief Donald O’Keefe. Governor Gavin Newsom appointed O’Keefe in December 2021, building on a distinguished career in law enforcement at both the local and federal level.   In 2012, O’Keefe was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as the United States Marshal for the Northern District of California. In this capacity, O’Keefe has been responsible for the management, administration, and direction of U.S. Marshal Service Operations throughout the Northern District of California. His overall responsibilities have included protecting the United States courts and judiciary, criminal investigations, fugitive enforcement, executions of federal court orders, and other law enforcement activities.   Prior to his appointment with the U.S. Marshals Service, O’Keefe served for more than three years as the Police Chief for the city of Half Moon Bay and also spent 27 years with the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office.   Chief O’Keefe replaces outgoing Chief of Law Enforcement Mark Pazin who is retiring. Chief Pazin has worked for Cal OES since 2013 where he has been instrumental in revamping and building an outstanding professional, multi-faceted law enforcement team.   Links Cal OES Law Enforcement U.S. Marshals Services, Northern District of California Half Moon Bay Law Enforcement San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office  

California experiences numerous unique disasters that first responders and emergency managers must be ready to respond to at any moment. Training is a critical part of that process in which the California Specialized Training Institute (CSTI) builds confidence in their ability to respond to whatever comes their way.   Over the last 50 years CSTI has trained thousands of emergency responders not only in California but nationwide.    In this episode (#92), we sit down with CSTI Superintendent Alex Cabassa and Dr. Lawrence Heiskell, provider for CSTI’s tactical medicine training. We discuss all things CSTI and hear real examples of how this training literally saved lives.   Resources: CSTI Tactical Medicine Course Cal OES News  

La Oficina de Servicios de Emergencia, o Cal OES por sus siglas en inglés, ha implementado cambios en la tecnología, transformando el sistema 9-1-1 de análogo a digital, y permitiendo con ello, un mejor proceso de comunicación y asistencia a emergencias. Y aunque el cambio no será identificado por el público en general, la diferencia será enorme para todos los elementos que diariamente trabajan en pro de resguardar el orden y la seguridad de la comunidad. En el departamento de policía de Roseville, platicamos con el oficial Carlos Cortés quien se emociona con esta evolución de la tecnología, ya que con más de 25 años al servicio de los residentes de California, primero como bombero y posteriormente como policía, reconoce las grandes ventajas que el cambio conlleva. La canalización de cada una de las llamadas de emergencia sin importar la ubicación de las víctimas es clave para llegar lo más pronto posible al lugar de los hechos, una situación que años atrás representaba todo un reto, ya que no existían los teléfonos inteligentes, ni los sistemas de ubicación global (GPS) y las herramientas existentes eran tan solo mapas y una hoja de papel la información más básica impresa. El sistema de llamadas 9-1-1 se convirtió en la plataforma más segura para ayudar a los afectados por una desgracia y la nueva generación ha dimensionado los alcances de dicha ayuda. LINKS: 9-1-1 Nueva Generacion        

  This episode (#90) brings us up to speed on Next Generation 911 in California.  911.gov explains: “Because most 911 systems were originally built using analog rather than digital technologies, public safety answering points (PSAPs) across the country need to be upgraded to a digital or Internet Protocol (IP)-based 911 system, commonly referred to as Next Generation 911 (NG911). A variety of non-technical resources are available to help explain what NG911 is and how it will help public safety leaders improve the safety of civilians, patients and first responders. Learn more about how the transition to Next Generation 911 will impact EMS, fire and law enforcement communities here. The success and reliability of 911 will be greatly improved with the implementation of NG911, as it will enhance emergency number services to create a faster, more resilient system that allows voice, photos, videos and text messages to flow seamlessly from the public to the 911 network. NG911 will also improve PSAP ability to help manage call overload, natural disasters, and transferring of 911 calls and proper jurisdictional responses based on location tracking. While the technology to implement these new IP-based 911 systems is available now, the transition to NG911 will involve much more than just new computer hardware and software. Implementing NG911 in states and counties nationwide will require the coordination of a variety of emergency communication, public safety, legislative and governing entities.” The California 9-1-1 Emergency Communications Branch at Cal OES remains focused on enabling Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) to provide the fastest, most reliable, and cost-effective access to emergency services for any 9-1-1 caller in California from any communications device.. While the existing 9-1-1 system has been a success story for more than 40 years, it has been stretched beyond its limit. The current 9-1-1 system is unable to efficiently integrate with today’s newer technologies and lacks the reliability and monitoring capabilities needed to support today’s increased disaster environment. Due to the aging technology of today’s 9-1-1 system, the number of outages continues to increase and the existing 9-1-1 system is becoming less and less reliable. There is an urgent need to transform California’s legacy 9-1-1 system into a Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) system. Modernizing California’s outdated 9-1-1 funding formula is crucial to protecting our 9-1-1 system. The CA Legislature approved SB 96 / AB 96 which provides the updated State Emergency Telephone Number Account (SETNA) funding model that will provide the revenue needed to implement NG9-1-1. NG9-1-1 will provide multi-layered redundancy and a common technology platform  for alerts and warnings. The advantages of NG9-1-1 include: Allow agencies to re-route 9-1-1 calls to each other during disasters Increase resiliency by hardening the system to withstand natural and human-caused disasters Provide a statewide common technology delivery system for Alerts and Warnings Ensure emergency calls are quickly and accurately delivered – in 3 seconds or less Support text to 9-1-1 delivery into the PSAP Deliver increased location accuracy for wireless calls Allow agencies to utilize state of the art mapping in order to better locate callers Integrate with First Responder Network Authority’s nationwide wireless broadband network initiative  Reduce 9-1-1 system downtime. 9-1-1 outages are an ongoing problem with the aging infrastructure currently being used in California Since the CA 9-1-1 Branch first published the proposed California NG9-1-1 Roadmap in 2010, significant progress has been made to implement NG9-1-1 in California. The CA 9-1-1 Branch successfully implemented several NG9-1-1 pilot projects; the most significant of these are in Northeast California with 36 PSAPs and the Pasadena RING project in LA County with 8 PSAPs. The CA 9-1-1 Branch also met representatives from nearly every PSAP in the state, the originating service providers, and the vendor community to develop the NG9-1-1 implementation plan.    Links Cal OES 911 911.gov Cal OES PSC            

  In this episode (#89) we talk with Jerry Sipe, recovery manger for Dixie and Beckwourth Complex Fires in Plumas County. He talks about how the utter devastation in Greenville, a town of about 1,100 in Plumas County, has left a debris field from one end to the other, as well as destroyed homes scattered throughout the area. While crews are making good progress debris cleanup and removal of hazardous waste caused by the fire, there’s still a large number of homeowners who have not signed a right of entry (ROE) form to allow crews to access the property to clean it. And that’s a problem, especially with the wet season arriving; rain causes debris flows, and that can contaminate ground water.   LINK TO: Debris Removal Prog. https://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/blogs/in-the-loop/in-the-loop/2018/09/24/consolidated-debris-removal-program-faqs Cal OES Debris Removal https://wildfirerecovery.caloes.ca.gov/ufaqs/what-is-the-consolidated-debris-removal-program/ SBA Disaster Asst. https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance   Dixie Fire Recovery https://plumascounty.us/2880/Debris-Removal-Programs Debris Flow Mitigation https://www.ready.gov/landslides-debris-flow Dixie Fire Incident https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7690/    

The Dixie Fire was a tough one. It started on July 13, 2021, and is still burning (as of this post on Oct. 12) on the Plumas National Forest, Lassen National Forest, Lassen Volcanic National Park, and in five counties: Butte, Lassen, Plumas, Shasta and Tehama. It has burned 963,309 acres and is currently 94% contained. The town of Greenville, population just over 1100, suffered catastrophic damage due to the Dixie; most buildings and many homes were destroyed. In this episode (#88) we met with the resident fire chief, Bob Orange, at his new, though temporary, fire house to talk about the fire, his department, and what’s next for this critical community service — the Indian Valley Fire Department. LINKS Dixie Fire Info InciWeb Dixie Fire CalFire Dixie Fire   

In this episode (#87) we talk with an expert on disaster mitigation. He is Professor Satoru Nishikawa, Disaster Mitigation Research Center, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan. We had the opportunity to chat with Dr. Nishikawa about the topics that connect Japan and California - natural disasters. We each have a long history of disasters and as such, we each acknowledge we are disaster-prone. However, we don’t just accept that fact; we are both actively involved in research and the development of new ways to mitigate, respond to, and recover from those emergencies. In fact, we have shared information with each other, learning from our collective experiences and share a common history of helping one another during times of need. Dr. Nishikawa talks about all of that and much more. Dr. Satoru NISHIKAWA Professor, Disaster Mitigation Research Center, Nagoya University Dr. Nishikawa joined Japanese Government service in 1982 and has held various positions in the Japanese Government, the United Nations, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, as well as a number of international organizations. In 1992, he took the position of Senior Disaster Relief Coordination Officer at United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-DHA) where he coordinated international assistance to numerous disaster-stricken countries. In 2001, he was appointed as the Executive Director of Asian Disaster Reduction Center. After resuming Japanese government service in 2004, he held senior positions in the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan. In the wake of the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004, he coordinated the Japanese Government technical assistance to the affected countries. He was also the on-site coordinator for the Niigata-Chuetsu Earthquake in 2004. He hosted and coordinated the 2005 UN World Conference on Disaster Reduction where the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 (HFA) was adopted. In 2005, he proposed the Japanese Business Continuity Plan (BCP) guideline. He initiated the long-term regional recovery planning for Tohoku after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. He was a member of the Advisory Group to the UN SRSG for DRR on the Post-2015 Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Global Platform. He was the chair of the WEF Global Agenda Council on Catastrophic Risk. From 2013 to 2015, he served as Vice President of the Japan Water Agency. He currently serves as: • Member, Science Council of Japan • Board Member, Institute of Social Safety Science • Board Member, Business Continuity Advancement Organization • Adviser, Japan Bosai Platform • Board of Trustees Member, Asian Disaster Reduction Center • Board Member, Save the Children Japan Links OCHA - UNITED NATIONS OFFICE FOR THE COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS KIDS WEB JAPAN MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF JAPAN GOVT. HOLDS DRILL ON DISASTER PREVENTION DAY The Great Japan Earthquake of 1923 (the Great Kanto Earthquake) Cal OES - Plan and Prepare Earthquake Warning California Cal OES Preparedness Day 2019 California Day of Preparedness 2018 Ready.gov

This episode of All Hazards (#86) takes you on a walking tour of Big Basin Redwoods State Park. The CZU Complex fire burned nearly all of the 18,000-acre park beginning in August, 2020, a significant portion of the 86,000 acres that burned in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The good news is most of the massive redwoods survived; however, the park’s infrastructure is gone. Our guide, Joanne Kerbavaz, is a senior environmental scientist with California State Parks. Learn about the damage done, and how the miracles of nature are evident in new life after wildfires.   To see our photo gallery and upcoming video of our Big Basin tour, visit https://news.caloes.ca.gov/podcast-86-come-…woods-state-park/   Big Basin Redwoods State Park contains more than 18,000 acres of redwood forest including the largest ancient redwood grove south of San Francisco   CZU August Lightning Complex Fire = devastating structural losses including the destruction of the park’s historic headquarters, campgrounds, and the newly renovated Nature Museum.   You can help. Click here for how: Donate to MPF's Big Basin Recovery Fund   Sempervirens Fund is California’s first land trust and the only organization dedicated exclusively to protecting the redwood forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Save the Redwoods League is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect and restore California redwoods and connect people to the peace and beauty of redwood forests. Together they are raising support for the Big Basin Recovery Fund, with 100% of proceeds going to California State Parks for the immediate recovery of Big Basin Redwoods State Park. This fund will lay the groundwork for the long-term rebuilding of this treasure of the California State Parks system.   Donate to Save the Redwoods League to support the Big Basin Recovery Fund Sempervirens Fund has also created a Santa Cruz Redwoods Restoration Fund to restore redwoods in the rest of the Santa Cruz mountains affected by the wildfires.

Donate to Sempervirens Fund to support the Santa Cruz Redwoods Restoration Fund   Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks (Friends) is a vital partner with California State Parks, creatively working to ensure our cherished local parks and beaches are thriving and available to all. They are creating the Friends Fire Relief Fund for direct, short-term assistance as well as longer-term recovery efforts at Big Basin Redwoods State Park and other parks in the Santa Cruz Mountains impacted by the CZU Lightning Complex Fires. Donate to Friends Fire Relief Fund   Take a listen to our first podcast episode on Big Basin, recorded just weeks after the fire was contained. http://www.oesnews.com/podcast-czu-torches-big-basin-redwoods-we-will-make-memories-here-again/

\r\n\r\n\nIn the words of our guest for this episode, “Table top is one thing. Getting your knuckles dirty is another.” Cal OES Assistant Fire Joe Gear takes a few minutes to sit down and talk with us about his role as incident commander, and that of Cal OES’s role, as well as the overall operations for Sentinel Response 2021. This is a detailed, complex all-of-government exercise that puts local, state, federal and military responders through the ringer during a two-day, hands-on training drill. This annual event usually takes place in Region-2, though it did happen in Sacramento in 2018.  This time, the training site is the Naval Weapons Station Concord, a World War II-era military base that has long-since been decommissioned pending full closure. Nevertheless, the Navy offered it as the site for this year’s exercise.\r\n\r\n\nReferences and Links\nSentinel Response 2021 Photos\r\n\r\n\nFirstNet\r\n\r\n\nCalifornia Fire and Rescue Training Authority\r\n\r\n\nEngine Transfer Photos\r\n\r\n\nSentinel Response 18 FSE and Interagency Cooperation\r\n\r\n\nINSIDE LOOK: Sentinel Response 2018\r\n\r\n\nLawrence Livermore National Laboratory\r\n\r\n\n \r\n

This episode of All Hazards (#84) takes us to the front lines of the fight against Covid-19, the vaccination super site located at Cal State Los Angeles. We sit down with some of the top leadership there: David Stone, Cal OES Fire & Rescue Branch Jack Nelson, FEMA Major LeRoy Cisneros, California Army National Guard Lt. Col. Andy Olson, Active Duty Army All four have their own areas of responsibility and face unique and similar challenges. How are they meeting those challenges, and what are they? What is it like to be part of history as they manage (in unified command) the first-ever Type-I Vaccination Super Site, one that’s becoming a model for all others nationwide? Let’s find out. Links MyTurn Covid19.ca.gov  

In this episode (#83) we talk with Michelle Mead, Meteorologist In Charge - at the National Weather Service in Sacramento. We talk about the role the meteorologist plays during the response and recovery efforts for a disaster. Ms. Mead graduated in 1994 with a BS degree in Earth Science with an emphasis in Meteorology from St. Cloud State University. She has been with the NWS since 1994, and has worked across the country in her 27 year career. Sacramento, California, is her current and 6th office.  During her tenure, she has dealt with weather phenomena such as severe weather in the midwest to the Foehn winds, snow, mountain meteorology and Fire Weather of the intermountain west and California. Since her arrival in Sacramento, she has been very hands-on with her office staff and the communities we serve.  She is also a wife and mother of twin 16 year old boys. Therefore, her spare time is mostly eaten up by family duties which, of course, she loves.  She also likes to workout and decorate her home for the holidays, no matter what holiday. Links NWS Forecast Office Sacramento, CA  

Be sure to visit OES News for more images and podcast information. In this episode of All Hazards, he’s THE public information officer for his fire department. No, not a small hamlet in rural California. San Francisco, California. Can you believe this legendary fire department has one person handling public information request, media relations, crisis communications, public affairs, education and more? He gets support from his department but that’s a lot of work and responsibility for one person. But he does it, and judging by those who know him, he does it well.  Lt. Jonathan Baxter will talk to us about how he’s able to be stretched so far and maintain a high standard of work and sanity! One secret I can share with you - he loves what he does.  Whether you’re a PIO or not, there’s a lot you can learn from this conversation, so grab your favorite hot or cold beverage and settle-in.  Baxter started his career in Public Safety at the age of 14 working as an explorer scout with the City of Paso Robles Police Department.  He attended EMT school at the age of 17, obtaining his EMT certificate just past my 18th birthday in 1989.  He was shortly thereafter hired with the San Luis County Ambulance service part time as well as the San Luis Obispo County Fire Department.   At the age 18, he was asked to participate in a trial paramedic program put on by the Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula, in the Carmel Valley.  He obtained his Paramedic license at the age of 19, becoming the youngest paramedic In the State of California at the time.   In early 1990 Baxter got hired as a full time Paramedic with Golden Empire Ambulance in Bakersfield California, and part time with Delano Wasco Ambulance service in the Inland Empire as a Paramedic.   From late 1990 to 1998 he was employed full time as a Firefighter Paramedic with the City of Sonoma Fire Department.   Let it be known that also from 1990 to 2000, in addition to his full-time career, he also worked part time as a Paramedic for AMR SF, Guerneville Fire, Bodega Bay Fire, Sonoma County EMS, and Occidental Fire.   Additionally, Baxter also worked part-time as a Firefighter/EMT and Fire Investigator for the Glen Ellen Fire Protection District from 1991-2010.   From 1998 to 2000, he worked full-time for the City of Hayward Fire Department as a Firefighter Paramedic.   In January of 2000, he started his career with the San Francisco Fire Department.  From 2000 to 2006 he worked around the City as a Firefighter Paramedic, and Rescue Swimmer. From 2006 to 2016, he volunteered to be assigned to Engine 1, which was at the time the busiest fire engine in America, per Fire House Magazine. With over 500 public contacts per month, personal pride and integrity drove he and his fellow crew members to provide equal, and above standard service to every customer (citizen).   From 2008 to 2016, he worked as a temporary lieutenant on fire suppression apparatus (Mostly Engine 1).   On January the 18th of 2016, he was hand-selected by Chief Joanne Hayes-White to become the SFFD’s Public Information Officer. While in that role, he was promoted to lieutenant in May of 2016 based off my rankings on a civil service test.   Links & Mentions Rebuilding Together San Francisco Rebuilding Together Sacramento Rebuilding Together  The Bay Area Urban Areas Security Initiative Citizen: Connect and Stay Safe FEMA Emergency Management Institute (EMI)  

In this episode (#81) we talk with Grady Joseph, Cal OES Assistant Director for the Covid19 Logistics Task Force. Learn about the complexity inherent in the logistical response to this pandemic in California. He talks about the early challenges of PPE procurement, scams, price gouging, vaccines and their distribution, the task forces created, California Medical Stations, alternate care facilities, supply chain breakdown and building hospital system capacity. Grady Joseph is the Assistant Director of Recovery Operations at the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. In this capacity, he oversees the State’s implementation of FEMA’s Public Assistance Program, California Disaster Assistance Act funding, Statewide Debris Operations, and serves as the executive sponsor for technology modernization of the Recovery Directorate. Prior to Cal OES, he served in key advisory and Recovery leadership roles in the private sector as well as at FEMA Headquarters and Region IX, with a primary focus on process improvement and technology modernization.   Links Covid19.ca.gov Fact Sheet: Explaining Operation Warp Speed UC Davis Health is prepared to receive Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine The first shots: Frontline health care workers receive historic COVID-19 vaccine SLEEP TRAIN READY FOR PATIENTS CAL OES 12 09 2020 Covid19 First Vaccinations Reel COVID 19 MEDICAL SURGE B ROLL RAW 1  

In this episode we sit down with Cal OES Deputy Director, Recovery, Ryan Buras. Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Mr. Buras in June, 2019 (just in time for the year of disasters, 2020) to head our Recovery directorate due, in part, to his experience with disaster recovery efforts in the US and American territories. Buras has been director of the National Qualification System in the National Integration Center at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, since 2017, where he has served in several positions since 2005, including senior advisor in the Office of Recovery Public Assistance and acting executive officer of the Office of Response and Recovery. LINKS Wildfire Recovery Cal OES Recovery COVID-19 Recovery Individual Assistance Public Assistance FEMA Assistance SBA Assistance  

  In episode #79 we are grateful to have CALFIRE Battalion Chief Mike Mohler as our guest. Reaching us via Zoom during this pandemic, he speaks candidly about his “implosion” on the job, which led him to seek professional help. Chief Mohler speaks of Post Traumatic Stress Injury (PTSI), intentionally differentiating his affliction from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.) What he and other first responders endure is, in fact, an injury not a disorder. Mike also talks honestly about how he contemplated suicide when he just didn’t care any more; he couldn’t numb the noise in his head. Mike is sharing his story because “we have to change that stigma because it’s OK. We’ve got people hurting across… not just our agency as you well know… every branch of military, law enforcement, fire, especially in these times. It’s time to check on our brothers and sisters and our fellow employees.” Links First Responder Wellness Save a Warrior A STUDY BY THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY INFORMATION Career prevalence and correlates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors among firefighters  

In this episode (#78) we talk with Chris Spohrer, District Superintendent,  California State Parks, Santa Cruz District. He talks to us about the devastation to the Big Basin Redwoods State Park done by the CZU Lightning Complex Fire when it swept through beginning on August 16th; It wasn’t fully contained until September 22nd.  The damage inflicted by the CZU was immense: 925 homes destroyed, 562 non-residential buildings destroyed, 999 people evacuated and one fatality. And the Big Basin Redwoods was smack dab in the middle of it. Every one of the 18,000 acres in California’s oldest state park burned. Every park building was reduced to ash. Now, many questions are being asked, such as where and how to begin rebuilding, what is the park’s future, and what will it look like? If you’d like to help rebuild Big Basin Redwoods visit the sites below. Chris Spohrer and Shawn Boyd NON PROFIT PARTNERS SUPPORTING THEM SEMPERVIRENS FUND F: @SempervirensFund https://sempervirens.org/   SAVE THE REDWOODS LEAGUE https://www.savetheredwoods.org/ F: @SaveTheRedwoodsLeague T: @savetheredwoods I: savetheredwoods   FRIENDS OF SANTA CRUZ STATE PARKS https://thatsmypark.org/ F: @FriendsOfSantaCruzStateParks T: @ThatsMyPark I: friendsofscstateparks   MOUNTAIN PARKS FOUNDATION https://www.mountainparks.org/ F: @Mountain.Parks.Foundation T: @mountain_parks I: mountainparksfoundation              

In this episode (#76) we talk with two experts on the dangers of exposure to wildfire smoke. Our guests are: Sumi Hoshiko is an environmental epidemiologist with the Environmental Health Investigations Branch, Center for Healthy Communities, in the California Department of Public Health. She has conducted research on health effects related to climate change, including wildfires and heat waves. Just recently her research has been cited in a New York Times online article on the California wildfires. She is currently the principal investigator of a research study funded by CAL FIRE that will examine the public health impacts of prescribed fire. Other areas of work have involved investigation of a variety of environmental exposures and health conditions, including tobacco smoke, chromium, perchlorate, radiation, cancer clusters, and asthma. She holds a Master’s degree in Public Health from UC Berkeley and a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College. Janice Prudhomme is a Public Health Medical Officer (PHMO III) who works in the Environmental Health Investigations Branch (EHIB) within the Center for Community Health at the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). Dr. Prudhomme is trained in Internal Medicine and Board Certified in Occupational and Environmental Medicine, having completed a fellowship at UCSF and a Master’s degree in Public Health (MPH) at UC Berkeley. Following initial work in clinical occupational medicine, she transitioned to public health roughly 2 decades ago. She has served as a Public Health Medical Officer in the Occupational Health Branch at CDPH and subsequently led Cal/OSHA’s Medical Unit. She also served as the Branch Chief for EHIB from 2014-2015. Her interests and expertise are broad-based across many occupational and environmental topics and hazards, including infectious agents, chemical exposures and physical hazards, including heat stress and wildfire smoke exposures. Current projects include updating EHIB’s educational documents pertaining to wildfire smoke and the intersection with COVID-19. For more information, resources and links go to oesnews.com/podcast and find this episode (#76).