By Dick LeGrand Modesto Bee 1970 Next summer the US Army Corps of Engineers will search Stanislaus County for places to keep people alive if nuclear war breaks out. Lack of sufficient fallout shelters in the county is one of the weak links in the emergency plan adopted two weeks ago by the Board of Supervisors. Neither does the county have a permanent emergency operating center set up yet, as called for in the plan, nor have Civil Defense personnel received the latest training in radiological detection. But the main purpose of the plan, to keep government functioning in case of war, major civil disorder or natural disaster, can be accomplished, according to Civil Defense Coordinator Robert Fries. Fries, who receives $3,144 from the federal government as the only paid Civil Defense worker in the county, developed the plan. Its more than just a piece of paper, he said. Weve got the people, materials and organization to carry it out. Courthouse Center To correct existing deficiencies, Fries will conduct a training course for firemen who will handle fallout detection devices in case of war. And preparations are being made now for construction of a permanent emergency operating center in the protected basement of the courthouse. Completion, including a new radio which will link the center with all county units, is expected in about a year. But portable radios will enable the center to be used in the meantime if needed, Fries said. From the courthouse basement, the Board of Supervisors would oversee all operations, with all governmental operations knit under their control. The fallout shelter survey which the Army Engineers will make next summer should turn up new spaces which can be used for shelters, helping to solve what is perhaps the countys most serious Civil defense problem, Fries said. Shelter space is very limited in comparison with the countys population, he pointed out. There are 32 stocked and marked shelters, mostly in downtown Modesto, with a capacity of 15,431 persons. Another 14 potential shelters which are unstocked could protect an additional 5,074 people, but the total is insufficient and not very well distributed around the county with its 191,618 population, he added. Lack of shelter space is not Stanislaus Countys problem alone. A shortage of protected areas exist throughout the state, Fries said, and is especially apparent in the Central Valley. In case of war, fallout shelters would be important to Stanislaus County not so much for blast protection, but because prevailing wind patterns in California would carry any nuclear debris from the Bay area and other primary targets in Northern California directly overhead. The shelters that are stocked have food, water, medical supplies, sanitation kits and radiation detectors. Inaccessible For the most part they are located,in the basement sections of concrete buildings, most of which are privately owned. The shelters remain inaccessible to the general public and the supplies protected until there is an emergency. And even then, because many of the shelters are used for storage space, it will take some time to prepare them. A basement in the Carter-LaCoste Building on 13th Street in Modesto, for example, is rated for 63 persons. But much on the space is taken up by, legal files and storage items which would have to be removed before anywhere near that number could be housed in the basement. Although an atomic attack could come with only minutes warning, Fries said, it is more likely any war could by preceded by a period of rising international tension which would give enough time to get the shelters ready. CP Staff On paper, all county employees are considered Civil Defense personnel, trained for the tasks they would perform in an emergency by virtue of the jobs they hold now. The Health Department staff, for example, would be in charge of medical facilities, while Public Works would clear debris and the Personnel Department would handle work assignments. The plan also includes coordination with the California Highway Patrol, utility services and industries. Any military units in the area would not have governmental control, according to the plan, with all civilian responsibilities left in the hands of elective and appointed officials. CIVIL DEFENSE Coordinator Bob Fries checks a radiological monitoring device and other emergency supplies in the fallout shelter at this Carter-LaCoste building on 13th Street in Modesto. Although rated tor 63 persons, the shelter is used for storage, as are most shelters in private buildings, and would have to he cleared before it could serve in an emergency.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 18:29:12 +0000
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