Earthquakes Highlight Need for Resilience in California

Two recent earthquakes — a 6.4 magnitude earthquake and a 5.4 aftershock — seriously shook Humboldt County in less than two weeks. The quakes damaged bridges, shook homes off their foundations, left some 72,000 homes and businesses without electricity, and disrupted phone and internet service.

Only the nearby airport and one local Native American tribe, which had planned for energy resilience, were able to continue operating and providing services to others during the crisis.

A stifling darkness fell on the wooded county following the first temblor that struck at 2 a.m. on December 20, 2022. Fortunately, the Blue Lake Rancheria — a federally recognized Native American tribe that spent years researching and building its own renewable microgrid — was a welcome beacon of light to anyone needing power to charge their phones, access the internet, or seek comfort in a warm space to get away from the cold.

The tribe’s goals for the microgrid included a vision to increase community resilience, and to power emergency shelter facilities during emergencies. They did all that and more when the Blue Lake Rancheria served some 10,000 people — 8 percent of the region’s population — during the outage, the Sacramento Bee reported. Tribal police opened an emergency center in the reservation’s hotel and dozens of cars arrived to use Wi-Fi after losing internet connectivity. A line started to form at the reservation’s gas station by sunrise, and people poured into casino restaurants. Many charged their devices at the community center, and displaced people booked rooms at the hotel.

A few years ago, I had the privilege of helping a tribe in Southern California plan and build a two-megawatt solar power plant designed to meet nearly 35

BY ALI SAHABI

percent of the community’s total energy needs. At the time, it was believed to be the very first solar project on tribal land within Southern California Edison territory. Our sister company, Optimum Group LLC, managed the entire process as the project developer and owner’s representative. That work included planning and engineering, applications, securing two grants totaling $1.5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy, and an aggregate net-energy metering agreement with Southern California Edison, allowing for financial credit for power fed back to the local utility and for even distribution of energy credits in multi-user developments.

Native American cultures have always understood the importance of resilience in their quest to live in harmony with all things. And we were honored to help connect the tribe with

Resilience — continued on page 30 the resources, programs, and analysis necessary to make this project a reality.

As Chief Operating Officer of Optimum Seismic, I have also worked extensively to help promote resilience as it relates to how buildings and infrastructure in our communities are impacted by earthquakes and other natural disasters. Resilience of all types is the foundation for the concept of sustainability. After all, if our buildings cannot withstand disasters, how can we expect to rely on them in our plans for a safer and greener future?

We’ve all experienced power outages in the past. But what will happen when our homes, places of employment, and essential services are destroyed and unusable for an extended period following a major quake? Indeed, our security is only as strong as the weakest point in our buildings, and many of the older buildings we live, work, and invest in are known to be extremely vulnerable to seismic shaking.

As I reported last month, there are thousands of potentially dangerous soft-story apartment buildings in Orange County cities such as Anaheim, Newport Beach/Costa Mesa, and Santa Ana. Many more are scattered throughout smaller local communities, according to a U.S. Resiliency Council mapping tool created in partnership with Esri.

Statewide, there are more than 60,000 locations in California with these older multi-story apartment buildings in cities without retrofit ordinances, representing nearly 800,000 units, according to estimates. If 30 percent of those structures need retrofitting, that is almost 250,000 units. At 2.5 people per unit, that represents 625,000 people at risk of death, injury, or homelessness when a major earthquake strikes near their homes. Visit http://bit.ly/3GQAN7m for more information.

My hope is that 2023 continues the growing movement towards resilience in communities throughout our state. Let’s model the foresight that these tribes have exhibited, and plan for resilience against the greatest natural hazard threat California faces – earthquakes.

Is your apartment building vulnerable? Call Optimum Seismic at 833-978-7664 for a free evaluation.

About the Author:

Recently appointed to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ Transition Team, Ali Sahabi, previously received the California Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award for taking a sustainable approach toward community development and environmental restoration in the 543-acre Dos Lagos mixed-use development in Corona, CA. A licensed General Engineering Contractor (GEC), Sahabi is an expert in building resilience and sustainability. He is Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Optimum Seismic, Inc., which has completed more than 3,500 structural retrofit and adaptive reuse projects for multifamily residential, commercial, and industrial buildings throughout California.

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