Jessica Cejnar Andrews / Friday, July 19 @ 4:25 p.m.
Following July 4 Firework Explosion, Emergency Officials are Looking for Training, Resources Needed to Better Handle Mass-Casualty Events
The crime scene from the July 4 firework explosion that sent 14 people to the hospital. | Photo courtesy of the Del Norte County Sheriff's Office
Previously:
• DNSO Makes Two Arrests In Connection With July 4th Fireworks Explosion
• Firework Explosion at South Beach Injures 14; Toddler In Hospital With Life-Threatening Injuries
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As elected officials figure out how to stem the flow of illegal fireworks entering Del Norte County, local emergency preparedness leaders are looking back at the July 4 explosion at South Beach to determine how the local response to mass casualty incidents could improve.
It’s a topic the Crescent City Council closed its meeting with on Monday when Councilperson Isaiah Wright asked about the role medical providers would play in future situations.
Mayor Blake Inscore agreed, noting that it’s not just Sutter Coast Hospital that would have to mobilize during a large emergency such as a tsunami. Figuring out how to work with individual providers during a community-wide disaster is a good conversation for the Del Norte Office of Emergency Services to have, he said.
“The last thing we want to do is to leave resources out of the loop,” Inscore said. “If we have medical providers whose offices are able to handle people, and the hospital isn’t, then we want to be able to make use of those resources.”
Emergency responders transported 14 people to the hospital as a result of the explosion. According to Crescent City Fire and Rescue Chief Kevin Carey, the ignition of one firework led to the explosion of a larger display, which spread to more combustibles in the vicinity.
Because of the number of people injured by the exploding debris, emergency personnel declared a mass-casualty incident, Carey told the Wild Rivers Outpost on July 5.
Two individuals, 33-year-old Levi Howand-Wayne Mills and Megan Rae Warner, 32, face charges in connection with the incident, including illegally possessing explosives, selling dangerous fireworks and willful cruelty to a child.
Both posted bail, District Attorney Katherine Micks told the Outpost. They’re due back in court on Aug. 23, Micks said Friday.
Del Norte County Sheriff Garrett Scott said he and Carey set up an incident command structure shortly after arriving at South Beach at about 10:25 p.m. on July 4. Two deputies got to the scene right before Scott and Carey and informed them they were looking at a mass casualty situation.
Carey assumed command of the fire and medical side of the emergency. Scott handled law enforcement. Five of his deputies were on scene as were California Highway Patrol officers who shut down U.S. 101. Three Yurok Tribal Police officers also responded, Scott said, noting that they're cross-deputized with the DNSO.
Emergency Services Manager Deborah Otenburg said her office wasn’t contacted for help on July 4. The responders on scene were able to get the injured help and stabilize the situation without having to activate the Emergency Operations Center, she said.
But OES is still evaluating the mass casualty incident to determine any training that might be helpful in future mass-casualty events.
“We do try to practice for these incidents,” Otenburg told the Outpost via email. “Sutter Coast Hospital hosted an MCI tabletop exercise involving most of our local first responder agencies last December. And OES recently attended an MCI exercise in Humboldt County. We are also currently in discussions about what additional exercises might be helpful.”
OES is also trying to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
One local agency that may have been impacted the most by the July 4 firework explosion is the Crescent City Harbor District. At a meeting on Tuesday, commissioners discussed whether drafting an ordinance banning the possession, use and sale of fireworks within their jurisdiction might be wise.
The explosion occurred roughly 800 yards down the beach from Anchor Way on the road side from the high water mark, said Justin Hanks, who oversees harbor security.
According to Assistant Harbormaster Mike Rademaker, the Crescent City Harbor District has established a harbor patrol with Hanks as lieutenant. “Substantive changes” will come with more funding and training, though Rademaker said those are slow in coming.
Last summer, Rademaker and Crescent City Harbormaster Tim Petrick presented their vision of a patrol force that would help vessels and people in distress and act as a bridge between the community and the harbor district.
On Thursday, Rademaker said it’s likely the Harbor District won’t be able to obtain the level of funding needed to support such a patrol force.
“However, the July 4th mass casualty incident highlighted the critical need for a harbor public safety program that goes beyond the scope of traditional security guards,” he said.
Hanks and three other people were directing traffic out of the inner boat basin when the explosion occurred. Things were uncharacteristically smooth up until then, he said, and then everyone collectively lost their minds.
“Once the call came across that there were multiple people injured on South Beach, I left my patrolman in the inner basin to direct traffic,” Hanks told the Outpost on Thursday. “I knew CHP was shutting down 101 at Anchor Way so there would be no way for people to exit there. I went to try to manage that.”
Hanks did his best to clear a path for a firetruck and ambulance to make their way from where they were stationed at Whaler Island to the highway. He and his staff then began letting motorists know that CHP had shut down 101 so any travel south was not possible.
Hanks said he and his staff are trained in crowd control, but not in mass-casualty incidents. The harbormaster and assistant harbormaster are working on getting a utility vehicle so security can patrol the beach that’s within the district.
Hanks said he has some arrest authority after having taken the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training’s PC 832 Arrest and Firearms Course. If he has to detain someone, a Del Norte County Sheriff’s deputy will then come and transport the individual to the jail.
Hanks said the harbormaster, assistant harbormaster and lawyers are working on a memorandum of understanding with the county for the ability to issue citations and for arrest authority.
“I do have arrest authority, but since an MOU isn’t in place it’s kind of a difficult thing to do,” he said.
On Tuesday, Hanks told harbor commissioners that banning fireworks wouldn’t do any good. People strongly believe in celebrating Independence Day with explosives, he argued. And if harbor officials say it’s not allowed “we will lose all public support,” Hanks told the Outpost.
Instead, all partnering entities, including the harbor district, sheriff’s department, fire district and the Crescent City Police Department should enforce existing laws.
Hanks said he and his staff could also use better training and more equipment and more law enforcement presence. He also pointed out that much of South Beach is under the jurisdiction of California State Parks.
“I didn’t see one single park ranger on the Fourth of July,” Hanks said.
Though it’s normal for Crescent City’s population to swell on Independence Day, South Beach got out of hand this year, Scott said.
The sheriff pointed out that at only eight deputies covering 24-hour shifts, he’s still short staffed. But even at full capacity, with four or five deputies on duty per shift, his office can’t deal with roughly 14,000 people crowding the beach.
Two weeks after the explosion, Scott said he’s already reached out to state fire marshal’s office, which oversees CalFire and enforces firework regulations. Scott said the fire marshal’s office promised to send five CalFire law enforcement officers to Del Norte County before, during and after Independence Day to crack down on illegal fireworks.
He said he’s also reached out to California State Parks and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, which has jurisdiction over much of South Beach.
Still, the sheriff said, it will be up to the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors, the Crescent City Council and the Harbor Commission to figure out how to deal with the annual population increase.
“Can Del Norte County handle this influx of people?” Scott asks. “Do we have the resources to handle that amount of people, and if we do, what can we do to make it safer for next year? It’s really not only a law enforcement issue.”
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