Premeditated, Structural, Equivocal Betrayals in San Diego

Premeditated Betrayal

“Premeditated Betrayal can be defined as cases where powerful individuals and organizations intentionally act in a craver, reckless and self-serving manner” (Gunter, Kroll-Smith, Volatile Places, 73). In applying this concept to the wildfire that spread throughout many counties in California, including San Diego, there may not be a specific powerful organization whose actions placed the community in harms way due to the fact that no one agencies, governmental or non governmental created this disaster. With that there were many initial reasons for these fires to have ignited. Events like human carelessness, as in arson and climate factors, seasons of droughts. Several fires were noted to have been triggered by power lines damaged by high winds. One fire started by an overturned semi-truck and a 10 year old boy admitted that he accidentally started the buckweed fire playing with matches. These are just examples of how human nature may influence Mother Nature in negatives ways.

When thinking about private companies that may be involved in helping with these fires, the companies involved usually would not have made a profit. The fire departments are there to help and other community organizations are there to help those who have lost many possessions from these fires. There was fire donation centers established where residents that were affected by the fires would “shop” for lost items. In times of crisis, government agencies and local agencies are found in unison. The different agencies are there to help those in need. However, it may be true that local agencies will stay longer to help than governmental agencies. President Bush order federal aid to this area form the U.S. Armed Forces, the U.S. National Guard as well as 3,000 prisoners convicted of non-violent crimes were sent into help. Another governmental agency that had a dominant role was FEMA. As the FEMA website states: “FEMA continues to work side-by-side with state officials and other federal partners engaged in the recovery efforts to multiple wildfires across Southern California.” Other events or agencies that were present at the time of the fires were the community aid group “Fallbrook After the Ashes,” Sally Hales of the Hope Foundation, and Helping hands Disaster Relief Foundation to name a few.

At this time there was a lot of media attention given to the area and attention started to drift away from Hurricane Katerina. Although both areas deserve much attention, the area in California is higher in socio-economic status. Where in Louisiana there was much looting occurring in the area and even though this area may need more attention, the wildfires took over. The socio-economic status of a community definitely plays a large role in gaining media attention and sympathy from the public
History of San Diego

Structural Betrayal / Equivocal Betrayal

“Structural and equivocal betrayal may be closely related. Structural betrayal can be defined as situations where residents perceive serious failure on the part of powerful organizations, but this occurs in the absence of any intent on the part of governments/corporations to behave in a negative manner” (Gunter, Kroll-Smith, Volatile Places, 73). When thinking about the damage wildfires can cause to a community, there is a lot of damage to fix. One major issue is rebuilding the community. This can be thought of in regards to physically rebuilding the community as well as the community’s morale. Rebuilding people homes and lifestyle is another big issue. Also, air quality is damaged as well as soil, plant, and wildlife health. There is a lot of attention needed in many different areas. The fires and their smoke pose a number of health risks including serious respiratory ailments reaching far beyond the wildfire boundaries. Smoke can hurt your eyes, irritate your respiratory system, and worsen chronic heart and lung diseases. US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) publicized the effects fires may have on its victims.
HHS advises that people in the affected areas take precautions, and recommends taking the following protective actions:

• Limit exposure to smoke
• Listen to local air quality reports.
• Follow your doctor's advice if you have asthma or another lung disease.
• Do not rely on dust masks commonly found at hardware stores for protection. These masks will not protect your lungs from smoke.

Citizens in the affected area are urged to listen for messages from state and local emergency officials and be aware of evacuation and sheltering orders in their communities.
California Fires


BBC News article about President Bush

Considering there are not many new problems created from this issue, many agencies are willing to work together to help this community. Also, in situations of natural disasters, citizens of the United States may expect the government to step in and take control of helping the people affected. In San Diego, one notable government agency that helped is FEMA. “President Bush has issued a major disaster declaration for California and ordered greater federal aid to supplement state and local response activities in the affected areas. Federal resources began mobilizing as early as Sunday, October 21, and authorized federal funds to reimburse the state for certain costs incurred under FEMA’s Fire Management Assistance Grant Program. Under those grants, FEMA pays for 75 percent of the state’s eligible fire-fighting costs. Eligible costs include equipment, supplies, and emergency work evacuations, shelters and traffic control. A major disaster declaration for California was granted Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2007, for seven affected California counties (Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura). FEMA & Response

Apart of the FEMA website are recommendations on how to re build after a wildfire. Returning to your fire-damaged home will undoubtedly be an emotional experience. But as you go about the task of rebuilding, there are many ways to rebuild safer, stronger, smarter and more resilient to wildfires. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has teamed with Firewise Communities, the Federal Alliance for Safe Housing, and the Institute for Business and Home Safety to provide information about rebuilding after a fire. Strategies for preventing future damage include:

• Consider using materials such as Class-A asphalt shingles, slate or clay tile, metal or cement, and concrete products for roof construction.
• Construct a fire-resistant sub-roof for added protection.
• Use fire resistant materials such as stucco or masonry for exterior walls.
• Prevent sparks from entering your home through vents by covering exterior attic and underfloor vents with wire mesh no larger than 1/8 of an inch.
• Keep your gutters, eaves, and roof clear of leaves and other debris.
  FEMA Suggestions

Another organization that is highly recognizable in the time of a disaster is the American Red Cross. One of the relief efforts seen from The Red Cross was that they reserved motel rooms for the workers who wanted to aide in helping with the California wildfires.
“With more than a dozen fires burning out-of-control over a wide geography and with hundreds of thousands of people evacuated, the Red Cross made every effort in the first days of the disaster to send adequate resources and volunteers to southern California. Part of that preparation meant acquiring space to house disaster workers. As the scope of the response over the next days proved smaller than first anticipated, the Red Cross quickly reduced the number of disaster workers deployed. Despite an overall successful relief operation, the Red Cross has determined that it paid for 6,074 motel room nights which went unused during the response to last October’s wildfires, and the organization pledged to refund that money to the community’s wildfire recovery program. The number of unused rooms was approximately 22% of the 27,714 room nights booked during the wildfires. The rooms, which were reserved as quickly as possible house disaster workers, were booked at several motels in the San Diego area.”
San Diego Red Cross