Safety Assessment Program members, from left, are Noel Tapia, David Romero, Charles Leong, Joyce Copelan and Tamara Marchemko.
By Dave Changizi
Chief, Headquarters Major Damage Restoration Branch
On Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022, phones began ringing nonstop at 2:35 a.m., one minute after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck 7.7 miles southwest of Ferndale in Humboldt County.
Minutes later, Caltrans ShakeCast went off with automatic notifications to hundreds of Caltrans employees, including the members of the Office of Structure Maintenance and Investigations (SM&I), with incident information comprising a list of potential Caltrans facility impacts.
Over the next several days, aftershocks ranging from 4.1 to 4.9 magnitude continued in the area, with a more significant 5.4 magnitude aftershock occurring on Jan, 1. The earthquake and aftershocks damaged the area’s residential and commercial structures and bridges.
At 7:03 p.m. on Dec. 21, The California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) tasked Caltrans by Mission Task to activate Caltrans Safety Assessment Program (SAP)-trained engineers to respond to the city of Rio Dell’s call for help to assess the damaged buildings from the initial earthquake and ongoing aftershocks. The city needed to evaluate how many residents could return to their houses or provide safe and sustainable shelters.
On Dec. 23, five SAP inspectors – Larry Wooster, Brandon Miller, Raymond (Charles) Leong, David Romero and Glen Wheeler – reported to a CalOES representative at the Rio Dell Volunteer Fire Department to be sworn in and begin to assess the damaged structures. They were joined by John Mutyaba and Shahe Terjimanian on Dec. 24 (Christmas Eve), and by Joyce Copelan on Dec. 26.
Following the 5.4 magnitude earthquake on New Year’s Day, four of the engineers – Brandon Miller, Charles Leong, David Romero and Joyce Copelan – were redeployed a second time when a second mission task for SAPs was issued. They were joined by Glen Wheeler, Talitha Hodgson, Noel Tapia and Tamara Marchenko. They traveled home on Jan. 12 in inclement weather.
Talitha Hodgson, left, poses with retired Caltrans District 1 Director Charlie Fielder.
Division of Maintenance photo
Following the earthquakes on March 10 in Sierra County and on March 14 in Mono County, a series of destructive snowstorms hit California. CalOES began mobilizing agencies’ SAP inspectors for assistance. The damage primarily had to do with snow that had built up on roofs and caused collapses in several mountain communities.
SAP inspector Brandon Miller reported to the CalOES representative at El Dorado County on Saturday, March 11, and began to assess structures in El Dorado County. On March 13, Brandon drove from El Dorado to Mono County to continue his mission. Charles Leong was deployed on March 13, to Mono County. Two days later, Brandon Miller had to travel back home to deal with the damage caused by snow to his own property. Upon completing his mission, Charles Leong traveled back home on March 18.
The colleagues who selflessly volunteered to help others in crisis, especially over the Christmas holiday, are the same ordinary people that live among us. Their act is highly praised precisely because they are someone like us with no wings to fly or magic wand to make things happen.
Caltrans has the largest number of civil engineers within the state agencies. The expectation of CalOES from Caltrans is proportionate to the available resources to assist during a crisis through the SAP. Five hundred SAP volunteers are set as a target for the department. Currently, we are at 150. This program is being revitalized through more training and incentives. As the state experiences more unexpected and destructive natural events, the department’s role becomes even more significant in the collective response actions.
Please sign up for the SAP if you are interested; contact us at HQ.SAP@dot.ca.gov.
What is SAP?
- SAP is Post-Disaster Safety Assessment Program intended to help local governments perform building and infrastructure safety evaluations as quickly as possible.
- SAP’s services and program are managed by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) and multi-hazard agencies.
- CalOES is the hub center to respond, direct, coordinate, and bring all the parties involved to address disaster-caused problems.
- CalOES has the authority to issue a mission task to state agencies, including Caltrans, to assist other agencies or localities within the state regarding resources and expertise.
- Civil engineers and architects are the most qualified to participate in this endeavor. Certified building inspectors can also assist in building evaluation.