March 20, 2003
We're ready for action, county's agencies say By ANNA DAVISON As the first missiles struck Baghdad before dawn today, Santa Barbara County's Emergency Operations Center went on high alert. The center -- which had been open earlier in the day -- was reactivated within an hour of President Bush's declaration that American forces had begun an attack. "We're watching this unfold," said Bruce Carter, Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Services manager. Local law enforcement agencies beefed up their numbers in case any antiwar protests get out of hand in the coming days. At the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport, more uniformed and plainclothes officers began patrolling the terminal as heightened security measures went into effect. The Emergency Operations Center -- a small room inside the County Fire Department headquarters where the walls are covered in phone numbers, maps and whiteboards -- was active through the night. The television was tuned to CNN. In the hours after the first attack, staff at the center hooked into state and federal information systems, spoke with state officials on the phone and kept a close eye on news reports. The rest of the night was spent fine-tuning the county's incident response plan, which applies to many different scenarios -- from earthquakes to bioterrorist attacks. "We're continuing to work as a well-oiled response system," Mr. Carter said. Although there's been no threats to Santa Barbara County -- considered a low priority on terrorists' target lists -- local agencies have been planning and practicing their emergency responses for a long time, Mr. Carter stressed. "We've been doing it. This isn't something that started as of Sept. 11 or Monday night (when the president presented his ultimatum). This is ongoing." "I think we're in good shape," said Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Chris Pappas. "Existing plans are in place." The military assault in the Middle East drew antiwar protesters to Santa Barbara's downtown Wednesday evening. As in the past, they were peaceful, but law enforcement agencies were prepared in case things changed. "We're nearing completion of civil disobedience training for all of our operations personnel," said Sgt. Pappas. "And our mobile field force is ready to respond and deploy as needed." Law enforcement officials say they want to make sure the demonstrations stay peaceful by keeping any fringe elements under control. "We're aware of the potential of problems, so we're taking precautions and we're going to make sure people are safe," said Lt. Mike Aspland of the Santa Barbara Police Department. "We're making sure everyone has all the proper equipment with them as far as tactical gear. We're being diligent and making sure we're fully staffed." At the airport, increased security measures were put in place Wednesday morning and the public address system broadcast regular reminders to visitors to be vigilant -- a message restated on signs erected around the airport Wednesday afternoon. Other security measures are in place that spokeswoman Terri Gibson said "we're just not at liberty to discuss. "The security measures are tailored to the particular airport," she added. Valerie Wong, who caught a flight home to San Jose Wednesday, said she'd been listening to the announcements and was trying not to worry. "I guess I'm just not going to think about it," she said. "I have to go home." News-Press staff writer Dawn Hobbs contributed to this report. |
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