Item 26 - Adoption of the City of Santa Ana Emergency Operations Plan

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City of Santa Ana Emergency Operations Plan Part 1 Basic Plan In September 2010, an explosion and large fire were reported in the City of San Bruno. Arriving emergency responders observed numerous homes destroyed or burning. The fire and destruction were so widespread that it was initially believed to be the site of an airplane crash. It was determined instead that a large (30-inch) natural gas main had ruptured and exploded. Eight residents were killed and 66 more were injured, 38 homes were destroyed and 62 more were damaged, 377 homes were evacuated, and $55 million in private property losses and $70 million in public property losses were incurred. More locally, in April 1982, a fire in the City of Anaheim illustrated the capability for urban conflagration in Orange County. Shortly before dawn, 50 to 70 mph Santa Ana winds caused power lines to ignite nearby palm trees. The burning trees ignited the roof of an apartment building and the intense winds caused the fire to spread rapidly from building to building through a closely packed neighborhood of apartment buildings. Natural gas lines in several buildings erupted, contributing to the intensity of the fire. The fire swept through a four -block area near Cerritos Avenue and Euclid Street, ultimately destroying 40 apartment buildings, more than 400 apartment units, and several homes and businesses. 1,500 people were left homeless and the $50 million in property damage made this one of the costliest fires in Orange County history, resulting in both a State Proclamation of Emergency and a Federal Disaster Declaration. The 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, the 1991 Oakland Fire, the 2010 San Bruno Pipeline Explosion and the 1982 Anaheim Fire all demonstrate the possibility of fire developing into an urban conflagration. Several elements that contribute to this threat exist in the City of Santa Ana: natural or human -caused sources of large fires, density of development, wood construction and older construction, the possibility of strong Santa Ana winds, limited personnel and equipment to address multiple fires, and potential disaster impediments to firefighting capabilities, such as debris blocking access of firefighting equipment or a damaged water supply. 113