The county’s emergency management director helps those find resources during the worst moments of their lives.

Erik Chalhoub here. It seems like ever since the very end of the last decade there’s been a non-stop barrage of disasters (of the natural and human-made type) not just in our county, but throughout the world. I previously wrote about “disaster fatigue” during the last major emergency to strike locally—the Jan. 16 fire at the Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility.

Let me rephrase that opening sentence. It doesn’t just seem like there’s constant disasters—it actually is happening. As Kelsey Scanlon, director of the County of Monterey’s Department of Emergency Management, told Weekly staff writer Katie Rodriguez:

“Ten years ago, we might have had an emergency once a decade that required the Emergency Services Council to be activated. Now, we’re seeing the Emergency Operations Center activated one to three times per year.”

You can read Rodriguez’s interview with Scanlon in this week’s edition of the Weekly. This story was actually planned to run in January, yet Rodriguez’s interview was postponed due to the Moss Landing fire, as Scanlon was understandably a little busy. How ironic.

The article gives an insight into the thinking of those who work in emergency management. It’s a job where your day can change in a second’s notice—and you can get pushed into the limelight just as quick.

Fortunately (or perhaps, unfortunately), Scanlon has the experience to take on this demanding role: “I can’t tell you how many times my family was evacuated from wildfires,” she said. “I think the world just kind of pushed me here.”

Check out the article to learn more about the people who are working around the clock to keep you safe.