Grass-Roots Organizing Counts When the Ground Shakes : Because Stevenson Ranch residents were prepared, the devastating effects of the Jan. 17 earthquake were met head-on and handled swiftly.

While the eyes of the nation on Jan. 17 were on the destruction in the San Fernando Valley, the community of Stevenson Ranch was also mobilizing itself to deal with the earthquake.

Stevenson Ranch is an area of 1,200 families near Magic Mountain in the western Santa Clarita Valley. It is about four miles from the quake’s epicenter. What happened there demonstrates the value of a grass-roots community organization when a disaster occurs.

Our experience was similar to that in San Fernando Valley communities where Neighborhood Watch members took the lead in checking for gas leaks, lost children and injured people. We intend to develop our Neighborhood Watch groups into organizations with personnel trained to deal with the next earthquake.

Not only was the Stevenson Ranch community raised and dropped like a pancake by the original quake, the Santa Susana Mountains, which slope into the back yards of many of the homes, were raised 15 inches. An evaluation of seismic data prepared by Caltech for the first 48 hours after the earthquake showed that while there were 22 quakes of 3.5 magnitude or greater in and around Northridge, there were 39 of that magnitude or greater with epicenters located within a mile of the Stevenson Ranch community.

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The original earthquake knocked out electrical power, ruptured gas lines and burst most of the main water lines west of the Golden State Freeway, where the community is located. All 1,200 families were driven into the streets in the cold darkness of the morning.

My street, Keats Lane, was typical. Tents went up, barbecues were prepared, resources were shared, neighbors who already knew one another quite well hugged and listened to their radios. We talked to one another about what to do next as aftershocks rocked our homes and nerves.

Within an hour, while moms joined together to care for the hundreds of frightened children, teams of people who had worked together in the community organizations went from home to home, wrenches in hand, turning off gas valves. When dawn came, adults went into their broken homes to retrieve water bottles, earthquake kits, camping equipment, warm clothes, blankets and chairs.

By 10 a.m., Stevenson Ranch looked like a huge campsite. We watched eerie dust clouds rise into the sky from slides created by the repeated shaking of the Santa Susana Mountains. No one seemed to believe that the quake was a magnitude of only 6.6 on the Richter scale. (And of course it wasn’t; it was later relabeled a 6.8.)

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It soon became clear that the organizational network many of us had helped to create during the four years since the Stevenson Ranch development had opened in 1989 was paying dividends. The community had a master homeowners association and six sub-associations, plus a town council composed of elected representatives from each housing complex in Stevenson Ranch.

With the help of county Supervisor Michael Antonovich’s office, I had worked with a dozen other activists to start the council to deal with issues involving schools, parks, commercial developments and the location of fire stations.

The town council had spearheaded the establishment of Neighborhood Watch committees and had talked about instituting an earthquake preparedness program.

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After the earthquake, this organizational network established direction in the midst of the initial shock and confusion. It interfaced with public officials who already knew whom to call to get services into the area.

According to Bill Clifford, treasurer of one of the sub-associations: “There would have been chaos without the association. Residents of our condominium complex knew who association members were. During the first hours we shut off the gas, broke down doors to get residents out who were trapped--and my wife, Marsha, who is an LVN, administered first aid to the injured.”

Bill Rattazzi, the chief executive officer of the community’s developer, Poe Development Co., and the company’s vice president, Jeff Stevenson, made company resources available to residents, working through the town council. By Tuesday, its marketing information center was converted to an emergency center for water and food supplies. Bottled water was brought in. So were portable toilets. The Valencia Water Co. worked around the clock to replace broken water pipes.

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By Wednesday, Jeff Stevenson had gotten the Red Cross to send in hot meals. The California Conservation Corps sent three members to help with water distribution. Federal VISTA volunteers from the county’s Acton Drug Treatment Center served meals and gave out information on emergency services.

Antonovich and his key staff came to tour the community. His office gave the provision of essential services to us the highest priority. He had a squad of sheriff’s deputies sent in to patrol our streets. Fire Department personnel appeared, and the county engineer started going from house to house to assess damage. Poe officials persuaded the gas company to bend its policy of responding only to individual calls for service. They agreed to send in 15 trucks to restore gas service a street at a time. Town council members and Poe officials began broadcasting nightly news bulletins on cable TV to keep residents informed about water, power, emergency services and school openings.

On Thursday, those who could do so started moving back home. There was still no running water. The county sent in public showers. On Friday, Rep. Howard (Buck) McKeon toured the community, met with residents, talked about the federal response and arranged for a representative of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to hold a meeting for residents.

By Saturday, the Valencia Water Co. began pumping water to homes in the lower elevations of our hilly community. The pipes that exploded in the process were repaired immediately. By Sunday, the community had stabilized and was on the road to recovery. My wife and another resident marriage and family counselor offered free counseling services to stressed parents.

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Four years of organization had paid off. It helped calm nerves and stabilize the community faster than would have otherwise been the case during the worst natural disaster in American history. In the words of Jo Anne Darcy, Supervisor Antonovich’s senior field deputy: “No community I am aware of came close to being as well-organized and effective in dealing with the disaster as were the people of the Stevenson Ranch.”