Grand jury says Humboldt law enforcement lacks disaster response resources
A June 17 grand jury report warned that Humboldt deputies and other officers lack the staff, training and equipment to evacuate, rescue and patrol during a major disaster.
On June 17, the Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury found local law enforcement agencies do not have enough funding or personnel to meet the level of disaster response communities expect when the next major wildfire, earthquake or flood hits Humboldt County.
It focused on the boots-on-the-ground side of preparedness, not just plans on paper. After years of reviewing disaster readiness, attending safety presentations and demonstrations, and interviewing local agencies, the grand jury found the problem is not commitment. Officers know what needs to be done, but many agencies do not have the money to train for field response or buy and maintain specialized emergency equipment.
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services is the county’s primary local coordination agency for emergencies and disasters, and the sheriff is the designated Director of Emergency Services for the Humboldt Operational Area. That operational area covers the entire county, including its cities, towns, special districts and independent tribes. The county’s emergency operations plan is supposed to provide the framework for multiagency response and Emergency Operations Center activation, but emergency-plan updates mostly flow downward to law enforcement, while those agencies usually do not help write the county plans.
Local government and organizational training exists, but it does not include the physical skills needed for real-time disaster response. Scenario-based training would give agencies a chance to practice those field-response skills before the next crisis instead of learning them in the middle of one. Funding for that kind of training, along with the acquisition and maintenance of specialized disaster equipment, is a problem across all Humboldt County law enforcement agencies.
A 2023 grand jury report said Humboldt County was not adequately prepared for a major natural or unnatural disaster, found no evidence that the county’s master Emergency Operations Plan had been completely updated since 2015, and said the Disaster Council had not met since 2015. In September 2023, the Board of Supervisors said a fully updated plan was due by December 31, 2024.
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