RaCERS Director Observes “Dirty Bomb” Functional Exercise in Los Angeles County

RaCERS Director Charles Jennings had the opportunity to observe the “Southern Wind” exercise, held May 1-2, 2019 at the Los Angeles County’s De Valle Training Center. The exercise was a functional exercise simulating a Radiological Dispersal Device event with multiple devices, structural collapses, and numerous casualties.

Southern Wind 2019 this Full‐Scale Multi‐Task Force Mobilization Exercise is designed to demonstrate the ability of Southern California‐based state/national US&R Task Forces to meet 
FEMA Readiness Assessment Program (RAP) requirements, FEMA Operational Readiness Exercise Evaluation Program (OREEP) requirements, and Multi‐Task Force coordination in response to an incident involving a Radiological Dispersal Device.
 
The participating US&R Task Forces were; 
California Task Force 2 (Los Angeles County Fire Department), 
California Task Force 5 (Orange County Fire Authority), 
California Task Force 6 (Riverside Fire Department), 
California Task Force 8 (San Diego Fire Department), 
and a local agency Hazardous Materials Task Force from the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

“RaCERS assisted in development of an RDD Tabletop exercise for the NY-NJ-CT-PA Regional Catastrophic Planning Team, and this functional exercise was an opportunity to learn and think through the many practical challenges in response,” said Prof. Charles Jennings. “California’s well-developed Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) capabilities are impressive, and it was a great opportunity to see them in action during a high-fidelity high-challenge event,” he added.