Reflections
The city of Paradise set up a plan to evacuate its population in the event of a wildfire, but what it got was a hydrogen bomb. The evacuation plan was woefully inadequate. Roads were gridlocked. People were trapped, and some died. Catastrophes of this nature require reflection and an honest evaluation of what went wrong. No doubt, city officials have thought of this every single day since the fire.
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ACEP Now: Vol 38 – No 03 – March 2019Hospitals will continue to get caught in California’s large-scale fires. We learned the hard way that evacuation is not always possible. Plans to shelter in place need to be developed. It may not always be possible for hospital personnel to run into a burning building to gather supplies. Thus, emergency kits that are accessible and portable need to be created. The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry, but we should prepare ourselves as best as possible.
Dr. Peck is an emergency physician at Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital in North Auburn, California. During her military career, she practiced combat and disaster medicine in multiple austere environments.
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2 Responses to “Notes From Emergency Physician Working When the Camp Fire Threatened Hospital”
March 19, 2019
Marianne CannonAwful scene,and very challenging times, for you ……. and similar here in Australia during our worsening wildfire seasons.
I wonder if ACEP might take a role in advocating around the causes of worsening natural disasters , despite the root cause being made “political” by certain groups .
As a 25 year member I was delighted to see the gun vested interest groups being challenged by those of us who clean up after the shooters mess, and we are -after all – the experts in disaster and environmental medicine .
“Men argue and Nature Acts ” Voltaire (sign in San Francisco )
April 4, 2019
Abigail PolzinGreat article. Thank you for sharing. Thank you for your dedication to your patients and community too.