Evacuation centers spread out services to meet COVID-19 safety protocols

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - In an area that's been known for large scale evacuations due to fire and natural disasters, Santa Barbara County is pre-planning how shelters will be set up for the next big one.

The American Red Cross and the Office of Emergency Management have been working on a variety of responses to help evacuees find a safe, and clean place when they are asked to leave their home.

This includes more sanitation stations, spacing of cots, and additional locations to avoid crowded gyms and other designated sites.

Regional Chief Executive Officer for the Central California  Region of the American Red Cross, Tony Briggs says,  "the idea is with COVID-19 to shelter in more locations with less people."

That provides the necessary spacing during the coronavirus crisis.

The American Red Cross has a rapid response plan to its existing shelter deployment teams so anyone who arrives is cared for with a safe, sanitized site.

" We are going to be working with the county health to make sure people are screen properly before they come in.  We are going to make sure  that we are doing social distancing  as far as making sure we are using six feet between cots. We are putting down markers to tell people where they can walk  around the shelter," said Briggs.

The Red Cross say one thing it has going for it in the Tri-County area is that many people have been involved in some form of an evacuation in recent years. That means they have a "ready, set ,  go" plan to leave the area,  go to a family member or friend, or to an American Red Cross shelter.

"If you don't have a backup plan, if you don't have family outside the area a shelter is the best place for you to go," said Briggs. "Everyone understands that when something bad happens they listen to public officials  they know that ya know the county and public officials have their best interests at hand."

The Red Cross says it understands the stress evacuees are under already with COVID-19 concerns. "We have nursing staff on hand , we have counselors on hand, we have spiritual care volunteers on hand in our shelters."

The plan here has already been tested in regular drills,  and across the country in real disasters,  the protocols have been used, refined and improved.

In other areas of the country where severe weather has hit, the real time implementation of the evacuation shelters has taken place.

"We've actually tested this across the country. We have worked out the best practices and we are trying to do everything we can to keep people safe," said Briggs.

Some testing has taken place locally to simulate a disaster and deployment.

With the added locations, come a call for more volunteers that are trained to handle the Red Cross protocols and care for evacuees.

(More details and video will be added here later today.)