City of Huntington Beach*

Lack of coordination among the involved agencies caused Emergency Public Information sent out about evacuations during the Canyon 2 fire to be inconsistent, and confused residents. Response: Disagree wholly. The City of Huntington Beach was not involved in Canyon 2 Fire.

Some emergency management personnel, tasked with creating and disseminating Emergency Public Information, in a rapidly-evolving, multijurisdictional emergency did not fully understand their roles and responsibilities. Response: Disagree wholly. The City of Huntington Beach was not involved in Canyon 2 Fire.

No training standards for Public Information Officers exist and there are no formal written protocols for issuance of mass notification, including required training on the use of mass notification systems. Response: Partial disagreement with finding. The City of Huntington Beach (City) has several-trained Public Information Officers (PIO). Each department has its own standards and training requirements specific to their field. These PIOs work together regularly to disseminate accurate and timely information to the public during emergencies and special events. In addition, the City was an active participant in the creation of the Operational Area (OA) Joint Information System (JIS) plan, and actively engages in regional collaboration. In regards to the issuance of mass notifications, the City has written procedures for alerting and warning the public per its local Emergency Operations Plan, Emergency Response Organization Guide and other Standard Operating Procedures. All personnel authorized to initiate Alert and Warning protocols are trained. Furthermore, the City participates in the annual AlertOC drill, which includes testing tsunami inundation zones and full city notifications. The city has been approved, through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, for to send Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA). Once this capability is in place, the city will train key employees on its functions and use.

The lack of a standardized written protocol for Alerts and Warnings decreases the ability of the County and its Operational Area jurisdictions to speak with one voice when it comes to alerting the public during emergencies. Response: Partial disagreement with finding. Based on recent disasters in California, at the beginning of the year, the Operational Area (OA) convened an Alert and Warning planning committee, which the City participates on. Once this plan is complete, the City Emergency Management & Homeland Security Council and Local Emergency Planning Committee will begin working on an independent written annex to our Emergency Operations Plan that incorporates guidelines established in the OA plan. Once completed, the City will continue to follow guidelines set forth in our current standard operating procedures and plans.

The County and interviewed cities do not seek sufficient public feedback of the perceptions of effectiveness of the Emergency Public Information. Response: Agrees with finding. The City understands the importance of public feedback and promotes obtaining comments through the AlertOC Message Line and the My HB Mobile Application. It also actively engages the public through multiple social media outlets. To date, the City has not used the AlertOC system for a major emergency, but the public has been able to provide feedback using these methods during testing periods.

The lack of standardized emergency management terminology among the various jurisdictions within Orange County causes delays and confusion in the dissemination of Emergency Public Information. Response: Agrees with finding. This is a problem recognized throughout the state and nation. The City supports the use of common terminology and will work with the Operational Area, and our responders, to meet the objective.

Orange County jurisdictions and the California Highway Patrol lack a joint plan for evacuation routes, thus evacuations can be chaotic, creating increased potential for danger to residents. Response: Agrees with finding. The City supports the California Highway Patrol participation in the Orange County Emergency Management Organization (OCEMO) meetings/sub-committees and other regional collaborative organizations.