Issue link: http://psai.uberflip.com/i/915561
W EEKLY EDITION DEC 13, 2017 Disaster Dispatch: PSAI Members Discuss the California Wildfires …continued The PSAI reached out to some of our California Members to hear how the current fires are impacting their day - to - day operations and how portable sanitation is neede d in the relief efforts Honey Bucket's Regional Manager Matt Smith recalls the earliest fires starting on a Sunday night. By Monday afternoon they were already mobilizing and delivering toilets for the fir efighters in Kenwood and Glen El len, California. F or the next 3 weeks they were on daily service for 16 toilets across a few locations. On Tuesday the Red Cross coordinator in the area contacted Matt as residents were evacuating their homes and seeking shelter . "We've provided 99% of the pumping for the R ed Cross now for the past 3 - 4 weeks," Matt shared. "The amount of water we're pumping for [them] is over 8,000 gallons a day, 7 days a week at various shelter sites all over Son oma County, Marin County, Napa County, and Lake County." The efforts didn't sto p there as they have also provided plenty of toil ets for victims of the fire – "d isplaced people, that sort of thing," Matt continued. "It's gone on from there. It's been quite an uptake, and it continues to this day. We've provided a lot of single unit tr ailers for the EPA who's been here inspecting all of the sites." Eric Giffin with Cal - State Site Services described their involvement in the efforts and how they typically respond to these emergency situations . "We get calls almost immediately when fires start," he said. "We will send anywhere from 1 to 100 units to command centers strategically placed around the fire zones. This includes Cal Fire, county fire c rews, and local fire crews, along with police and sheriff departments. We're also very big on t he fence side of things. We will send barricades and temporary fences as security blockades." Larry Moore with A Company described their involvement as being on hold as "back up." He explained how in California they "put these emergencies out to small bus inesses set aside." He did clarify that they do get involved if other local companies that are the first to respond have exhausted their resources. In this particular fire their involvement has been low. Honey Bucket and Cal - State Site Services, however, have both felt the effects firsthand as the fires have impacted their service areas. "At first the fires burned for almost two weeks, it seemed like, so there were areas we weren't able to service due to the fire lines," Matt Smith shared. "We did lose a substantial number of portable toilets that were out on jobsites and at houses that burned." He was happy to report that none of his employees lost a house, althoug h he did share that many were "d isplaced for a long time" in evacuation zones. "It's for sur e a team effort out here," Matt stated. "We definitely weren't the only company providing toilets, everyone was responding." Cal - State's routes were also affected, as was their remote yard in the city of Ventura. "Crews have stopped certain routes altoget her due to smoke and flames," Eric explained. "A lot of businesses shut down for several days and some are still shut down due to the intense smoke. We have relocated trucks to our main yard because of street closures and the smoke." Eric also shared how t he fires hit frighteningly close to home (as shown in the photo on the next page) . "The flames came within 100 yards of us. Our crews have had homes evacuated and still come to work … I can't thank them or praise them enough." PA GE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 3