CAHF Disaster Preparedness

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Wildfires

Stories from the Fire
How some long term care facilities responded to the California wildfires.

Useful Links

The Governor's Firestorm 2007 website gives maps, updates, useful phone numbers and helpful links

The California Department of Public Health's Wildfire website is also very useful, and includes resources, press releases and fact sheets.

Click here for So Cal Interactive Map and Evacuation List.
To get a better perspective on closures and fire areas, click "enlarge map." Use your mouse to click on the icons for more information. For those outside the LA area, use your mouse to drag and drop the map to your desired location.

Air Quality & Health Issues
In all wide-spread fire disasters, air quality is an immediate concern, especially for individuals who have respiratory or heart problems. The general advice from the Center for Disease Control on how to deal with wildfire smoke is:

Pay attention to local public health alerts on air quality.
Stay indoors and keep doors and windows closed.
Run an air conditioner with the fresh-air intake closed and make sure the filter is clean.
Do not rely on dust masks or surgical masks for protection from smoke.

Helpful Fact Sheets

— CDPH's Guidance on the Safe Cleanup of Fire Ash (PDF file)
— CDC's Fact Sheet on Fire Safety: Worker Safety During Fire Cleanup (PDF file)
— County of San Diego's Consumer Alert During Water Outages or Periods of Low Pressure (PDF file)
— CDC's Fact Sheet on the Health Threat from Wildfire Smoke (PDF file)
— CDPH guidance on the use of air filtration and N-95 respirator masks (PDF file) (often used as dust masks and also for infection control)

CAHF E-Alerts

— November 21, 2007 (PDF file)
— November 1, 2007 (PDF file) Windy Weather Watch, Boil Water Orders, and More Detailed Information on Accessing Resources, Supplies and Information
— October 26, 2007 (PDF file) Survey to Maximize Affected Facilities' Fire-Related Reimbursement–Please Complete Survey By OCT 31, 2007
— October 26, 2007 (PDF file) Neighborhood visits to be conducted by L&C; Important fire-related expense reimbursement survey to go out
— October 25, 2007 (PDF file) Guidelines on the use of masks in smokey environments & keeping indoor air clean
— October 23, 2007 (PDF file) Quick-reference evacuation guidance & important phone numbers
— October 22, 2007 (PDF file) Wildfire update & evaluating for transfer trauma

Preparing for Wildfires (PDF file)

California Association of Health Facilities | 2201 K St., PO Box 537004
Sacramento, CA 95853 | 916.441.6400 | Fax 916.441.6441