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Problems in Wake of Firestorm
By
E.A. Barrera
Four years ago, in what was then the worst fire in California history, even
before the flames had died down there were reports of looting. Residents in
areas such as San Diego Country Estates, Harbison Canyon, and Scripps Ranch
reported having items stolen from their homes and properties. But four years
later, in the aftermath of a firestorm said to be both the worst natural
disaster in California history, and one of the worst recorded in the United
States, San Diego County District Attorney has a warning for anyone who would be
so low as to pillage an evacuated home - your going to jail for a long time.
"Local law enforcement and the National Guard are securing evacuated
neighborhoods to reduce the incidence of looting, which is prosecuted as
second-degree robbery if committed during a state of emergency.
Second-degree robbery is a felony crime punishable by up to three years in state
prison," said Dumanis. "The fires have victimized residents in our county once.
We will not allow them to be victimized a second time by criminals without a
conscience."
The San Diego Sheriff's Department has reported a handful of looting
incidents and the arrest of two looting suspects in Ramona. Dumanis said
investigators from her office have been deployed to assist in providing law
enforcement at the county's wildfires as part of the Countywide Law Enforcement
Mutual Aid. The District Attorney's Office has more than 125 investigators as
part of its Bureau of Investigation who are available to participate in the
mutual aid. Their duties include providing law enforcement to prevent looting in
evacuated areas, supplemental patrol, traffic control, and security posts, among
other assignments. The DA investigators carry firearms, are dressed in khaki
pants with black polo shirts that have the word "Police" printed in reflective
lettering. They drive unmarked cars with emergency lighting and have their
County identification cards displayed prominently. DA Investigators were also
deployed during the Cedar fires in San Diego County in October 2003.
"Our investigators are sworn law enforcement personnel who have all been
previously employed as police officers, sheriff's deputies or as federal agents.
We remain ready
to help out our community any way we can."
In other news issued by the county to help residents cope in the aftermath of
the fires, a limited deployment of Damage Assessment Teams (DAT) were sent into
the field to begin work assessing destruction caused by the wildfires. But even
as the Santa Ana winds die down and the fires seem to finally be subsiding, the
county warned that due to the fluidity of the fires, not all teams were being
deployed immediately and they would be sent to areas in close proximity to each
other. For Ramona and Julian residents affected by the Witch Creek fire, the
DATs have been deployed to eastern Ramona.
County officials also warned that with recurring and potential future
problems related to electricity and water delivery, the County Department of
Environmental Health said residents and businesses should follow some common
sense practices when dealing with food, including:
Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed. Keep potentially hazardous
foods, such as meat or poultry, chilled to 41° F or less.
Do not place
hot or unrefrigerated foods in the refrigerator once the power has gone out as
it will raise the temperature inside the unit. Chill food with ice baths
as needed.
If the freezer is not full, group packages together so they
will retain the cold more effectively.
If necessary use block ice, bag
ice or dry ice for supplemental cooling. Be especially careful when handling dry
ice and do not touch it directly with bare skin or inhale the fumes directly.
Keep meat and poultry items separated from other foods so if they begin
to thaw, their juices will not drip on to other foods.
Discard any thawed
food that has risen to room temperature and remained there for two (2) hours or
more.
The CDEH said that if there was any doubt about food, people should simply
throw away those items, rather than take chances of getting sick.
"When the power comes back on, all potentially hazardous foods must be
evaluated for proper temperatures. Bacteria can multiply rapidly on potentially
hazardous foods that have been at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
Thawed foods that are at 41°F or below should be used as soon as possible.
Do not refreeze thawed foods. Additional food safety information can be found on
the Internet at www.foodsafety.gov by
selecting Consumer Advice, and then Disaster Assistance," said the
CDEH.
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