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Crime & Safety

Emergency Personnel Prepare for Carmageddon Weekend

Additional firefighters and police offices will be working, and the city and the county will be sending out unified messages to help ensure public safety and keep residents informed.

For emergency personnel, the scenario of streets gridlocked with detoured cars during this weekend's 405 Freeway closure is more than just a nuisance.

"That really would be the most significant problem," said Capt. Alicia Mathis, public information officer for the Los Angeles Fire Department. "If we do get a lot of traffic in that area, we will bump up against it and have a hard time getting to where we need to go."

More than 20 agencies in Southern California are working together this weekend to ensure public safety and keep residents informed. In addition, police and fire departments are deploying extra personnel on either side of the freeway, which will be closed Friday night through Monday morning between the 101 and 10 freeways so that one half of the Mulholland Bridge can be demolished as part of the freeway widening project.

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"If we do get areas that get overly congested, [police and transportation personnel] can direct traffic where they need to go," Mathis said.

The department is deploying more than 200 extra people and two helicopters can be used for air ambulances if the streets become too congested.

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Both the city and the county emergency operations centers will be operating, with the city operations center also hosting a joint information center. Reporters will be at the information center and the center will also use Twitter and Facebook to keep residents informed.

"If the unified command needs us to push information out quickly, we can," said Chris Ipsen, public information officer for the city's emergency operations center. This will be the first time a joint information center is used, Ipsen said.

"What we're hoping for is a consistent message," Ipsen said. "We're looking forward to seeing how that goes and if that works."

The unified command is a coalition of the Los Angeles Police and Fire Departments, the California Highway Patrol, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation and Metro.

"It's a coordinated effort," said Ken Kondo, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management. "It's very well planned."

Part of that planning is the result of lessons learned from unexpected disasters, such as the 1994 Northridge earthquake, which damaged the 10 and 14 freeways and forced their closures for a significant period of time. This weekend likely will be a training tool for future disaster scenarios, partly because this is an actual event rather than a drill, Ipsen and Mathis said.

"This is really happening, so it's been a great exercise," Mathis said.

A consistent message to the public is also a priority for all agencies involved. A significant part of the message so far is a plea for people to remain in their own neighborhoods, or to use public transportation, bicycles or walk if they must go into the areas immediately affected by the closure.

Mathis pointed out that people who live in the area could be endangered if emergency personnel have a hard time reaching them in the event of a medical emergency such as a heart attack or baby's birth.

"This is why this is very serious," she said. "People need to understand that their decisions could potentially affect other people, and the people that live in that area that have no other choice."

She and Ipsen also pointed out that this is a great chance for residents to do some emergency planning of their own for an earthquake, when emergency personnel will have an even more difficult time responding. Ipsen suggested that residents take advantage of this time spent close to home by getting to know their neighbors better so that they know who can do what in a crisis.

"Most people are going to be their first responders," Ipsen said, referring to an earthquake scenario. "So make this a community weekend to prepare."

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