PALA SEEKS COMMENTS ON MULTI-HAZARD PLAN

The Pala Band of Mission Indians has updated its Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan to ensure disaster preparedness and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) compliance. The Tribe is now looking for feedback from the Pala Reservation Community on the draft plan before submittal to FEMA.

The updated Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan will be available for public review between May 11th and May 18th. It is located conveniently in three places on the Reservation, at the reception areas of the Pala Administration Building, the Pala Fire House and the Pala Library. There are feedback forms available in these locations as well. The Tribe hopes that many members of the Pala Reservation Community will take the time to review the plan and provide feedback. All feedback will be reviewed by the Pala Emergency Response Committee (PERC) and included in the updated plan.

Public participation is a key element in mitigation planning and one that FEMA requires. The Tribe held a community meeting on March 12, 2009; they introduced the plan updates to the Pala Reservation Community. Additionally, a questionnaire was distributed to all participants at the meeting and to PERC members at their meeting held on the same day.

Questionnaire results indicate that the majority of people who completed the questionnaire have lived on the Reservation for twenty years or more. Their biggest priorities include protecting critical facilities and reducing damage to utilities. The Tribe has begun to bury power lines which will reduce the instances of loss of power due to high winds, wildfires or earthquakes. When asked to identify the greatest hazards to the Reservation, respondents identified, earthquakes, floods, wildfires, house fires and landslides in that order.

The updated Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan identifies nine critical facilities on the Pala Reservation, including the Pala Casino Spa Resort and the new Fire Station. It also examined natural hazards, technological hazards and lifelines. The highest risk hazards include flood, earthquake, landslides and wildfires.

The PERC has identified nineteen mitigation strategies to add to the twenty-four strategies from the original multi-hazard mitigation plan written in 2006. Since 2006, twenty of these strategies have been implemented or are underway.

Top priority strategies for the updated plan include:

1. Develop a Pala Reservation Community Emergency Response Plan. The plan should include an evacuation plan for employees as well as a recall plan for employees.
2. Form a Tribal Emergency Response Team (TERT).
3. Clear brush in outlying areas around the entire Reservation boundary.


The Pala Emergency Response Committee (PERC), which consists of the Tribal Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary, Pala Fire Chief, Battalion Chief, Security Chief, Assistant Security Chief, Business Manager, Environmental Director, GIS Specialist, Casino Director of Guest Safety and Surveillance, and Casino Director of Risk Management, has worked in conjunction with Jamie Caplan Consulting LLC on this draft plan.

The Pala Band of Mission Indians consists of 1,117 members with 650 living on the reservation along the Palomar Mountain range, located along 5,000 square miles of California’s desert and approximately 30 miles northeast of San Diego on Interstate 15. Pala Casino, a 185,000 square foot, $115 million casino, entertainment and dining complex owned by the Pala Band, opened in April 2001.
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