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…

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…

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 a…

In this episode (#94) 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 Distr…

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 …

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 pa…

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…

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 go…

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, popul…

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, …

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 infra…

In 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…

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…

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 Universit…

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, cri…

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, Calif…

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 Nati…

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 Tra…

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 …

In this episode (#77) 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 clima…

This is part-2 of our conversation with contact tracer Brittani Peterson. In part-1, episode #75, Brittani was just wrapping up her training and was about to begin her work reaching out to people who had recently tested positive for coronavirus. Now, Brittani is more than a month into her job and shares with us what she’s experience so far. Contact…

In this episode of All Hazards we take a look at “contact tracing.” We began hearing about this in earnest shortly after the coronavirus hit. Health officials are trying to find out who’s had it, where they might have gotten it and with whom they’ve been in contact. And to do that they employ the dedicated services of contract tracers. We talk with…

This is the return of All Hazards after a Covid19 Hiatus. We hope you’re all safe and well. We sat down with members of the Cal OES Office of Legislative and External Affairs in January 2020 with the intention of posting it asap. Then the coronavirus hit. It seemed there were more pressing issues on everyone’s minds, so we didn’t want to post this …

In this episode (#73) we talk with Cal OES Deputy Director Mitch Medigovich, who oversees the Logistics Management Directorate. We concentrate on some of the more recent incidents Logistics have been challenged by including the Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS), the Camp Fire, Ridgecrest Earthquake and Hurricane Florence. Topics include disaster l…

This episode takes a closer look at how the International Affairs Office, at the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, is the central hub for matters of international policy and guidelines, working relationships and special international projects. As the focal point of Cal OES’s engagement with the international emergency management community, I…

In this episode, Cal OES Chief Counsel Alex Pal sits down with Shawn Boyd at headquarters to talk about the role he and his office played during a few recent California emergencies, and the importance legal affairs plays as a whole. Alex was appointed to this position by Governor Brown in 2018 and was reappointed by Governor Newsom in 2019. Prior t…

Denise Shemenski is the tribal advisor for Cal OES. The purpose of the Office of Tribal Coordination is to improve and maintain communication and collaboration between California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and all Native American Tribes in California. This office aims to create effective collaboration and informed decision-ma…

In this episode of All Hazards (#69) we talk with Vance Taylor; he’s the chief of the Office of Access and Functional Needs at Cal OES. Topics of conversation include the importance of partnerships, issues and concerns related to AFN that come up during nearly every emergency in California, and how Taylor and his team tackle those problems before, …

We caught up with Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea just about one year after the Camp Fire broke out, and about 11 months after we first sat down with him. In this episode, Sheriff Honea talks about how the recovery effort is going, the health and wellness of the community and first responders who endured the response efforts, and what his prioritie…

Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Mona Pasquil Rogers as senior advisor at the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services in June, 2019. Pasquil Rogers has served as appointments secretary in the Office of the Governor since 2011. • Chief of staff to Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi from 2008 to 2009 • Acting Lieutenant Governor from 2009 to 2010, upo…

In this episode (#66) we talk with Brian Ferguson, deputy director of communications at Cal OES. We’ll talk about his transition from working in the governor’s office to the world of emergency management and why he’s OK with not knowing everything about his new employer, its communications team and all the facets that it faces. He’ll also talk abou…

In this episode of All Hazards, we talk about the important relationship between Cal OES and the private sector. We sit down with two people who have forged a working relationship that exemplifies the symbiotic nature of disaster response and recovery teamwork. Abby Browning is the Chief of the Office of Private Sector/ Non-Governmental Organizatio…

California Volunteers, together with the Office of the Governor, announced on May 30, 2019, they kicked off the California For All CERT and Listos Preparedness Conference during an opening ceremony in San Diego, CA on Thursday, May 30, according to their own description. CalVolunteers officially launched the volunteer teams – CERT (Community Emerge…

In this episode of All Hazards we chat with three members of a delegation from a high level of Australia’s emergency management leadership. They are visiting Cal OES for strategic discussions on how both California and Australian representatives coordinate and respond to disasters including sharing best practices, gaps, and lessons learned, as well…

In this episode (#62) of All Hazards we talk with Orange County Fire Captain Richard Ventura. He’s a member of the California Urban Search & Rescue Task Force 5 and is the director of the Southern Wind RDD US&R Full Scale Exercise. That’s the topic of conversation. This is a learning based exercise that challenges US&R task forces in an environment…

In this episode we talk with our new Cal OES Deputy Coastal Region Administrator Nehru Harper. Nehru has always led a life of service--from being a Brownie, to becoming one the first of many women to serve onboard a Pentagon sanctioned vessel in the United States Navy, to advocating for disabled veterans, and working for the Federal Emergency Manag…

Podcast #60: En este podcast, vamos a hablar sobre la importancia de estar listos para un desastre o emergencia. Viviendo en California, no somos extraños a las emergencias. Hablamos con Jovanna Garcia de la Agencia Federal para el Manejo de Emergencias (FEMA) y ella comparte consejos de sus experencias profesionales y personales. Estar preparado e…

Kendra Bowyer is the Incident Commander for the Woolsey and Hill Fire debris removal operations in Southern California. She has served in many other capacities in nearly a dozen previous debris Removal operations for the state of California since 2015. Kendra Bower was hired as an Emergency Services Coordinator with CalOES in early 2018 following s…

February 4, California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) Director Mark Ghilarducci officially swore in Brian Marshall as the new Fire and Rescue Chief. He was appointed to his new position in December. Chief Marshall spent the previous six years as the fire chief and director of emergency services at the Kern County Fire Department.…

In this episode (# 57) we talk with Mike Mohler, Deputy Director of Communications for CALFIRE. In his current role, as well as his prior position as Battalion Chief at Southern Region, Mike has worked many of California’s biggest wildfire disasters, historical ones at that. He talks about why there is no longer a “fire season” and how wildfires re…

Sheriff Kory L. Honea In this episode (#56) we sit down with the sheriff of Butte County, California, Kory Honea. His county, of course, was ravaged by the Camp Fire which broke out on November 8, 2018. The Town of Paradise, located within his county, was nearly completely destroyed by the fire that was stoked by 55+mile per hour gusts. Sheriff Hon…

In this episode (55) we talk with veteran news photojournalist Tim Walton. He gives us a unique perspective on working with first responders during disasters, especially wildfires. Tim has also works with Cal OES, donating much of his dramatic fire footage to help supplement their own images and tell important stories that benefit the public and Ca…

FEMA Region IX David Samaniego In this episode of All Hazards we sit down with the current Federal Coordinating Officer (FCO) for the California Wildfires Disaster Response David Samaniego. Large portions of the counties of Shasta and Lake in the north Bay Area of California were devastated by wildfires in late July, 2018. It was declared a major f…

Front Row, L-R: Andy Langolf, Drew Hammond, Carly Landry, Megan Pappas Back Row, L-R: Anthony Zimmer, Mike Warren, Ron Williams, Mark Ackerman On September 12, 2018, Cal OES deployed emergency and incident management specialists to assist with emergency response efforts for Hurricane Florence. The team arrived in South Carolina prior to the storm’s…

Front Row, L-R: Mike Warren, Ron Williams, Anthony Zimmer Back Row, L-R: Andy Langolf, Mark Ackerman, Megan Pappas On September 12, 2018, Cal OES deployed emergency and incident management specialists to assist with emergency response efforts for Hurricane Florence. The team arrived in South Carolina prior to the storm’s landfall and immediately be…

Yosemite National Park Rangers Scott Gediman and Jamie Richards According to the national Park Service, Yosemite National Park was first protected in 1864 and is best known for its waterfalls, but within its nearly 1,200 square miles, you can find deep valleys, grand meadows, ancient giant sequoias and a vast wilderness area. Recently, Yosemite is …

Chief Craig Cottrill: Wellington/Chatham Islands Fire and Emergency At the height of the wildfire siege across California, when 15 major fires burned, there were more than 13,000 firefighters from 18 states and two other countries battling the blazes. Those countries included Australia and New Zealand. 41 of those firefighters were deployed to the …

EPISIDE 49 of Cal OES All Hazards Podcast July 24, 2018 California will be blasted with heat advisories and excessive heat warnings as temperatures will be between 10 to 15 degrees above normal Tuesday through Thursday. Why is that so dangerous, and what do you need to know to stay cool and safe? In this Cal OES news update, we get answers from the…

Kim Zagaris, or Chief Z as some call him, is the State Fire and Rescue Chief for the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES); he was appointed on April 1, 2001. He admits his appointment rattled cages, nerves and even a few careers. He’s not only survived the highly political position, he’s succeeded. In this episode (#48) of A…

In this episode we tag along with professional rattlesnake wrangler Lou Fraser, and state park ranger Kerrie Launey. Fraser shows us the kind of habitat in which rattlesnakes can be found, and educates us on their some of their behavior and some of the mistakes people make that lead to bites, all while catching four of the venomous reptiles. Meanwh…