Lessons Learned in Neighbors’ Tragedy : * Volunteers Who Went to L.A. Deserve Praise; Anaheim’s Bid for Aid Was a Bad Joke

From the sublime to the ridiculous--Orange County was mostly unaffected by the Northridge Earthquake last week. We had many heroes and one conspicuous goat.

County emergency personnel performed wonderfully in coming to the assistance of our neighbors to the north stricken by the Northridge earthquake. Officials went beyond mere assessment of local effects to contribute mightily to the assistance efforts in the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles. Fortunately, the county suffered remarkably little damage and no major injuries.

But with all the real suffering elsewhere, what an outrageous proposal the city of Anaheim made in an effort to get federal and state assistance in fixing the collapsed scoreboard at Anaheim Stadium. The city sought repair money even as the city manager was pointing to a “structural flaw” in the collapsed Sony Jumbotron. Anaheim should be content to count its blessings that the scoreboard didn’t come tumbling down during a stadium event, causing injury and death, and exposing the city to uncalculated liability.

So on to much finer moments. The county sent fire engines, firefighters, 56 members of the Orange County Urban Search and Rescue squad and its Heavy Rescue Team, the unit that had pulled a man from the collapsed Nimitz Freeway after the 1989 Loma Prieta quake in the Bay Area. Additionally, doctors and nurses went, and so did Marine helicopters to ferry infants. The National Guard activated its emergency center in Los Alamitos, and county building inspectors and public works crews were available to assess damage.

These courageous and dedicated people made Orange County a good neighbor. But even as the county personnel reached out, there was evidence from the quake of work to be done at home to prepare for the worst in the future. The review reminded local officials of a 1989 study showing many county fire stations considered “very unlikely” to survive a major earthquake.

The Board of Supervisors wisely called for a new review of earthquake risks to the stations. But the way out of the dilemma will not be made any easier simply by more study. And the county has made some effort to shore up and secure problem doors on fire stations already. The larger point is that its budget crisis is not going to go away. The county got only a good scare this time; deciding how to allocate money to the Fire Department will test the ability of local officials to make good judgments about priorities.