Thanks for taking a few minutes to give an inside look at your job in this situation. I think it's fascinating to use this medium (blogging) to hear the thoughts of those like yourself in the administration. I encourage everyone who posts to the blog to keep it coming - I'm reading!
I would recommend that you create an open source deconfliction team. The goal being that you deconflict what the press is reporting with the numbers that you (DHS & Federal Govt) release to the public. Oftentimes, the numbers are way off and when the public see these off numbers they have little faith in the governments ability to accomplish the mission.
October 24, 2007 10:04 AM
Anonymous said...
mr chertoff end leavitt. i`m writing you from south of argentina (that gives you some little idea about how far in america latina we can see much more than you can imagine). i would like to discusse with you, why is that happened that usa have that so bad image on us?. and at the same time, show all of you that may be interested to know it, that at the end, in the mostly of goverment act that you show under the flags of "freedom, democracy" and other things like that, at the end is only all bussines. from here we see how on one side of the bell, your goverment has the power to destroy an entire country, and in the other side of the same bell win for themselve the business for rebuild the country that you same has destroy. don`t you see a kind of hijacking on this? let`s talk about if you like. let me tell you that what you are dealing now on that fires is really horrible, and i will pray to Lord that this fire can be controlled. see you on blog.
Preparedness: it is one of those responsibilities that nobody enjoys, no one looks forward to, and most put off until the last minute, but setting plans in place for the worse-case-scenarios is clearly a responsibility of leadership. Every competent business has a continuity plan and a disaster recovery plan. It important for each family to consider and collaborate on similar plans so that when disaster strikes it is not disastrous.
Thank you Mr. Chertoff! I know you came here yesterday for a visit! I live in San Diego county; I was affected by the huge fire burning in the South bay area....The "Harris Fire". I have never seen anything like it! A giant wall of flames! Seems like nobody could stop it until the military helped us out by sending their big planes that can drop buckets full of water! That really helped! I was evacuated for two nights but now I am back in my home. It's NICE to be home! There is still a lot of smoke in the air; it looks like "fog" in my area. And a very bad "burn-smell" too. There is a light "ash" on my driveway, etc. Thanks for taking the time to come to San Diego! And thanks to the President for coming all the way here today to take a look at the fire damage in person!
October 25, 2007 4:07 PM
[Photo] I’m writing this from the air as I make my way to southern California with Secretary Chertoff to take a closer look at the areas impacted by the wildfires. Later today, we’ll meet with the local officials on the ground that are fighting the fires and coordinating the emergency response to make sure they have everything they need to gain control of the situation. I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you about some of the steps the Administration is taking to support the emergency response effort.
Earlier today President Bush issued an emergency disaster declaration for California. FEMA began mobilizing resources on Sunday, and we are currently establishing a Joint Field Office in Pasadena. The Joint Field Office will coordinate federal, state, tribal, and local response to operations throughout the area.
FEMA has also established a staging area in southern California that will assist in mobilizing federal assets for emergency response operations. We have stood up our Regional Response Coordination Center (RRCC) which will function around the clock to support operations. The RRCC consists of federal agencies including the Department of Interior, Department of Transportation, United States Forest Service, United States Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Heath and Human Services, and the DHS Infrastructure Protection Office.
The American Red Cross is also playing a crucial role in assisting our operations. Currently it has opened shelters in five counties throughout southern California. Numerous Red Cross assets have been mobilized and deployed to the affected areas.
My biggest concern is the safety of the firefighters, individuals and families of those impacted in the area. I want to stress how important it is for all individuals and families to have a plan in place in case of an emergency such as this. Whether it’s a hurricane, wildfire or terrorist attack, families need to be prepared. I encourage everyone to visit http://www.ready.gov/ and learn what you and your family can do to be prepared.
We’re fully committed to assisting state and local responders and officials on the ground, and will provide whatever assistance they need to control these dangerous wildfires.
5 Comments
Close this window Jump to comment formThanks for taking a few minutes to give an inside look at your job in this situation. I think it's fascinating to use this medium (blogging) to hear the thoughts of those like yourself in the administration. I encourage everyone who posts to the blog to keep it coming - I'm reading!
October 23, 2007 9:16 PM
I would recommend that you create an open source deconfliction team. The goal being that you deconflict what the press is reporting with the numbers that you (DHS & Federal Govt) release to the public. Oftentimes, the numbers are way off and when the public see these off numbers they have little faith in the governments ability to accomplish the mission.
October 24, 2007 10:04 AM
mr chertoff end leavitt.
i`m writing you from south of argentina (that gives you some little idea about how far in america latina we can see much more than you can imagine).
i would like to discusse with you, why is that happened that usa have that so bad image on us?.
and at the same time, show all of you that may be interested to know it, that at the end, in the mostly of goverment act that you show under the flags of "freedom, democracy" and other things like that, at the end is only all bussines. from here we see how on one side of the bell, your goverment has the power to destroy an entire country, and in the other side of the same bell win for themselve the business for rebuild the country that you same has destroy. don`t you see a kind of hijacking on this?
let`s talk about if you like.
let me tell you that what you are dealing now on that fires is really horrible, and i will pray to Lord that this fire can be controlled.
see you on blog.
EL_FISU
www.elfisu.blogspot.com
October 24, 2007 3:04 PM
Preparedness: it is one of those responsibilities that nobody enjoys, no one looks forward to, and most put off until the last minute, but setting plans in place for the worse-case-scenarios is clearly a responsibility of leadership. Every competent business has a continuity plan and a disaster recovery plan. It important for each family to consider and collaborate on similar plans so that when disaster strikes it is not disastrous.
Hope the wind changes for the better today!
Regards,
Jonathan Frye
Blog: Leadership
October 24, 2007 6:44 PM
Thank you Mr. Chertoff! I know you came here yesterday for a visit! I live in San Diego county; I was affected by the huge fire burning in the South bay area....The "Harris Fire". I have never seen anything like it! A giant wall of flames! Seems like nobody could stop it until the military helped us out by sending their big planes that can drop buckets full of water! That really helped! I was evacuated for two nights but now I am back in my home. It's NICE to be home! There is still a lot of smoke in the air; it looks like "fog" in my area. And a very bad "burn-smell" too. There is a light "ash" on my driveway, etc.
Thanks for taking the time to come to San Diego! And thanks to the President for coming all the way here today to take a look at the fire damage in person!
October 25, 2007 4:07 PM