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Extracted from Consolidated Report
This investigation was originally published as part of a larger consolidated report containing multiple investigations. View the consolidated PDF for the complete document.
San Bernardino County Grand Jury
• 2024-2025
County Office of Emergency Services
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings 7 findings
F1
Page 61
The County’s ability to respond quickly and provide relief to the citizens trapped by the heavy snowfall was hampered by a lack of proper equipment to remove the amount
F2
Page 62
The Mountain residents were not well informed of the situation that they faced, and the efforts being taken to provide the necessary assistance.
F3
Page 62
Since the agencies were not trained to understand the County Emergency Operations plan, they were poorly coordinated causing the community to suffer delays in needed services.
F4
Page 62
The Lack of a Disaster Council made up of county dept. leaders, hinders effective emergency planning, training, and communications.
F5
Page 62
The San Bernardino County Emergency
F6
Page 63
After the County’s Emergency Proclamation, the formation of the EOC, and the state’s Emergency Declaration, OES and some agencies were hesitant to fully function in unified command.
F7
Page 63
The EOC did not have a functioning unified command, resulting in County
Recommendations 5
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R1Page 61The Grand Jury recommends that the County create and maintain a plan for securing the use of the type of equipment required to clear accumulations of snow greater than 8 feet from vital mountain roads. June 30, 2025 San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors 46 San Bernardino County Grand Jury Final Report of snow encountered.
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R2Page 62That the County develop a plan to take a leading role in disseminating accurate and timely information to residents facing disasters over a broad spectrum of platforms including social media. April 30, 2025 San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors
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R3Page 62The Office of Emergency Services should develop a plan and accompanying training for all county departments, including the Board of Supervisors, to function according to the San Bernardino County Emergency Operations Plan. June 30, 2025 San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors
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R4Page 62Establish a Disaster Council per the San Bernardino County Emergency Operations Plan. June 30, 2025 San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors
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R7Page 63Department heads be trained in EOC responsibilities and held accountable for their agency’s June 30, 2025 San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors 48 San Bernardino County Grand Jury Final Report resources not being used effectively. participation in the EOC. GLOSSARY: BOS – Board of Supervisors (San Bernardino County): The Board of Supervisors is like a city council in that its members are elected by residents to represent their interests and make policy decisions on government services, policies and finances. CEO – Chief Executive Officer: leads the County Administration Office and the Executive Team, who work with the Board of Supervisors and other stakeholders to serve the county residents and investors. DPW – Department of Public Works: Provides services in the following areas: Transportation, Flood Control, Solid Waste, Surveyor, Special Districts, permits, inspections, planning, maps, roads, paving, traffic, snow removal, water and sanitation, zoo, parks, landfills, organic waste recycling, environmental planning and maintenance, stormwater, contracts, project proposals, and public notices. EOC – Emergency Operations Center: is a central command and control "coordination structure" responsible for managing emergency response, emergency preparedness, emergency management, and disaster management functions at a strategic level during an emergency. IMT – Incident Management Team: An incident management team is a group of trained personnel that responds to emergencies and complex incidents. They provide command and control infrastructure to manage various aspects of incidents, including operational, logistical, informational, planning, fiscal, community, 49 San Bernardino County Grand Jury Final Report political, and safety issues. These teams are specially trained to handle and mitigate incidents within an organization, ranging from natural disasters to workplace accidents. MoU – Memorandum of Understanding: a type of agreement between two or more parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action. It is often used either in cases where parties do not imply a legal commitment or in situations where the parties cannot create a legally enforceable agreement. It is a more formal alternative to a gentlemen's agreement. OES – Office of Emergency Services: Under the direction of the County’s Director of Emergency Services, the Office of Emergency Services (OES) strives to prevent, protect from, mitigate against, prepare for, respond to and recover from the threats and hazards that pose the greatest risk to San Bernardino County. The OES has led these efforts during natural disasters such as earthquakes, fires, floods, public health emergencies as well as man-made incidents involving large-scale/extended power outages, civil unrest and terrorism. REFERENCES: San Bernardino County 2023 Winter Storm After-Action Report https://www.sbcounty.gov/uploads/cao/uploads/content/SanBernardinoCounty- 2023-Winter-Storm-After-Action-Report.pdf San Bernardino County Fire Protection District, February 2023 Storm Event After- Action Report https://sbcfire.org/2023winterstormaar/ 50 San Bernardino County Grand Jury Final Report