The La Honda Voice

The February 2021 Edition of the La Honda Voice

Download TheLaHondaVoiceFeb2021

Know Your CEAP

“Shake hands before the disaster, so you don’t have to point fingers after the disaster” (Anonymous)

CEAP (Coastside Emergency Action Program) is a disaster preparedness group for the entire San Mateo coast begun in 2005. Knowing that in the event of a disaster we need to be prepared to fend for ourselves for several days, Charise Hale McHugh, then CEO of the Half Moon Bay Coastside Chamber of Commerce & Visitors’ Bureau got everyone to the table. First responders, city and county officials, businesses, the harbor and airport, animal groups, ham radio operators, Red Cross, medical staff, schools, senior centers, and more were welcomed and started meeting monthly. The county and CalFire provided training and classes. The group moved forward and earned recognition with their unique model. 

Besides the obvious advantage of “shaking hands” with leaders and representatives in our community, a huge asset of CEAP is their maintenance of a Resource List. This list was compiled by Charise and the Chamber of Commerce to document resources available to the community as well as the groups and agencies ready to provide them. The list is continually updated.

Each meeting includes a guest speaker and updates from member organizations and agencies. This gives everyone a chance to hear what each group is currently doing or has done, and allows for sharing of press releases, flyers, and other important information to the broader community. It also encourages collaboration among the groups and brings specific skills and resources to the others. Joint exercises and drills are also discussed and planned.

Following the August CZU lightning complex fires, CEAP members shared quick “debriefs” of how their organization reacted to the incident. As you might imagine, many groups were involved up and down the coast including Large Animal Evac, Red Cross shelter operations, ham radio operators, CERT volunteers (Community Emergency Response Teams), not to mention Fire and County Sheriffs. These debriefs were consistent in several ways: preparedness paid off, teamwork across organizations worked seamlessly, the ability to maintain communications via ham radio was essential, and (editors comment) we have incredible people here in our communities!!

Here is a partial list of agencies and organizations represented at meetings to discuss their emergency plans and preparedness: the City of Half Moon Bay, Coastside Fire Protection District, San Mateo Office of Emergency Services (OES), La Honda Fire Brigade, Coastside Fire, American Red Cross, San Mateo County Harbor District, the Half Moon Bay Coastside Chamber of Commerce, Puente de la Costa Sur, Coastside and Southcoast CERT, Amateur Radio groups from Half Moon Bay and La Honda, Large Animal Evacuation Group, Coastside Hope, Senior Coastsiders, Disaster Airlift Response Team at Half Moon Bay Airport, the Peninsula Humane Society, Pescadero Municipal Advisory Council, and many more.

If you’re interested in more information or in joining Coastside Emergency Action Program Committee, please contact [email protected].