Grand Jury Report: Butte County has “Inadequate” Emergency Notification System
The Butte County Grand Jury has released its 2018-2019 Annual Report and it has a huge focus on wildfire safety. The report examines the “lessons learned” from the 2018 Camp Fire, and provides a list of recommendations to improve evacuation plans and emergency communication systems in the County.
The Grand Jury found that, out of the 52,000 foothill evacuees during the Camp Fire, only 7,000 were alerted about the approaching wildfire through Butte County’s emergency notification system: CodeRED. The report states
CodeRED is inadequate as a stand-alone emergency notification system due to vulnerable telephone and cellular service
As a result, the report recommends that audible alarms be included in Butte County’s emergency alert system and that the Butte County Office of Emergency Management establish a multi-platform emergency notification system to add to the County’s current alerts.
The Jury further provided a list of 14 total recommendations for Butte County to increase wildfire and evacuation safety; most to be completed by January 1, 2020. A full list of these recommendations can be found in the KRCR article, “Grand Jury finds alerts “inadequate” during Camp Fire.”
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Northern California Fire Lawyers is a team of more than 30 attorneys from a coalition of three Northern California law firms: Corey, Luzaich, de Ghetaldi & Riddle, Danko Meredith and Gibbs Law Group. Collectively, our fire lawyers have more experience investigating and bringing claims against PG&E than any law firm in California. Our attorneys have been appointed by California judges to leadership positions in some of the largest fire and disaster cases, including the Butte Fire Cases, 2017 and 2018 PG&E Fire Cases, and San Bruno Explosion lawsuits.
We have earned hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts for our clients, and members of our team have been honored for their work with numerous awards, including “Top Plaintiff Lawyers in California,” “Trial Lawyer of the Year,” and “Top Women Lawyers in Northern California,” among others.