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Employee Profiles: Judy James, Comcast’s First Responder

3 years ago

What is known is that on the night of Sunday, October 8th, first responders were the first on the scene battling blazes that whipped through Napa and Sonoma Counties. What is not known is alongside them at the command centers, evacuation centers and government offices was Judy James, the Government Affairs Director for the North Bay. She worked tirelessly the moment the flames ignited causing massive destruction that eventually engulfed more than 210,000 acres. We sat down with Judy to discuss her experience and Comcast’s response to the North Bay wildfires.

 

The Night of Sunday, October 8 – The Morning of October 9:

11:30 PM: Judy and her husband had seen the first reports of the fires in Napa on the evening news. Walking outside into the heavy winds outside of her home in Cotati, she saw the fire glowing towards Mount Saint Helena. She watched as it spread, driven by the howling winds into Sonoma County. She went back inside and got online.

12:30 AM: Having experienced crises before with the Lake County fires two years previously, Judy began monitoring and identifying the evacuation centers in Napa; emailing her colleagues and the respective emergency services areas. Trying to use all forms of communications, she took to Facebook; messaging any potentially affected friends online and updating her online status to notify anyone and everyone possible of the extreme danger the fires had become. Then the general public Nixle alerts and evacuation alerts for Santa Rosa started flooding in.

2:30 AM: Judy began quickly calling and recalling everyone she knew in the fire’s path; reaching one of her friends in Fountain Grove as emergency responders wrapped on her door. Knowing that cellular outages were likely the next step, she sent as many texts as possible for those she couldn’t reach. Although her message wasn’t necessarily heard, it was seen.

3:00 AM: Having heard a knock on the door, Ms. James opened her front door to find friends she was unable to reach. They’d seen her Facebook status and additional texts and realizing she was awake, they’d come for refuge. Soon after, she received a call from a friend hosting a tour of sommeliers ho’d been evacuated.

4:30 AM: Judy had filled her home with fifteen new and old friends, two dogs and an appreciative parrot. While she stayed in the back bedroom coordinating with the growing emergency services response, her husband treated their guests to tour and tasting of their own small vineyard. A calm reprieve from the terrible tragedy happening just north and east of them.

 

Q&A with Judy James:

When did you first realize the severity of the fires?

“I think it was midday Monday, sitting with a houseful of guests from across the country. They believed if anything these types of fires happen often in the Bay Area and we’re usually prepared. It was in that moment of telling them that this is the worst fire I’d ever seen that it hit me, just by verbalizing it. Simultaneously, that’s when the reports of the number of homes that had been burned started coming in. And I realized that some of the local Chamber Board members, hospital administrators and rescue services officials I’d been on the phone with knew or had to assume their homes were already burned down. I saw how the evacuees staying with me were glued to the television, hoping for the chance to see if their homes were there or not.”

After that first night, how did you assist the general emergency response?

“After the roads opened up, I headed to command centers in Sonoma and Napa, acting as a go between for public officials, multiple emergency command centers, our own technical operations and external affairs teams and providing them with any and all updates I could. Making all of Comcast’s and my resources available to them.”

Given how exhausting a period of time this was, what kept you going?

“Truthfully, it was everybody giving their all. Both within Comcast and outside of it, working 12, 16-hour days, weekday and weekend. We were all doing the best we could and we were there to support one another. Once the fires started my peers on the Government Affairs teams from Sacramento, Fresno and San Francisco made themselves available for aid. Therefore, I did not want to let anybody down. I didn’t feel like they wanted to let me down, we were all in it together.”

Where are we now? What are the next steps the community can take to begin recovery?

“At this point, we’re beginning the recovery process. We’re working with the local governments to rebuild the area’s infrastructure with additional and upgraded capabilities. That means rebuilding infrastructure above and below ground, streamlining the permitting process with the help of local government and rebuilding the businesses that have thrived there.”

What do you think we can learn from an incident like this?

“I think that we need to let our partners and local government officials know that we’re ready at the drop of a hat. And that we can be counted on and accountable during these times of crisis. I know there is not a response that is ever fast enough for a crisis like this but we can always get better.”

What we all can do?

“We can go back. Come back to the North Bay known throughout the world, stay, shop, eat and enjoy the wine that made the area famous. Families, residents and businesses have been displaced or lost and bringing people back to the area will be key in how fast we can rebuild.”

 

Filed Under: In Your Area, Profile Series
Tagged With: Comcast Employee, North Bay Wildfires

Public Safety Power Shutoff

An Xfinity technician examines a forest

Preparing for PSPS Events

Many of us are looking forward to a return to some form of normalcy as we work to rebuild and recover from the public health crisis. Californians are clever, resilient and optimistic people and we will find joy in every season no matter what happens.

While this year will probably feel very different, one thing that will, unfortunately, remain consistent is the threat of wildfires. June 1 was the official start of fire season and at Comcast we are working tirelessly to ensure we continue to serve our customers.

Concurrent with fire season, in many parts of California, we anticipate planned power outages – called Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) – during this time, which runs from June through November. When gusty winds and dry conditions are forecasted, combined with a heightened fire risk, electricity providers pre-emptively turn off the power to protect the public.

Comcast’s Internet, TV and landline telephone services for homes and businesses require commercial power to operate. During a PSPS event, these Comcast services may stop functioning within hours after the commercial power is shut off. Mobile phone service may also be affected by a PSPS event.

Comcast understands this disruption to services is frustrating and has a major impact on people’s lives and businesses. The safety of our communities and employees is our utmost priority and Comcast takes care during PSPS events to ensure public safety.

Comcast also takes care during PSPS events to ensure we’re keeping our customers informed. We’ve sent a letter and an email to our customers with important information about how to keep informed during wildfire season.

You may also see public service announcements on your local news channel reminding you how these power outages may affect your services.

Here are a few things you can do now to be prepared:

  • Confirm your contact information at xfinity.com/myaccount—We will use this information to contact you if we expect a service disruption caused by a planned power outage. You can also use My Account to check if your service has been restored.
  • Comcast Business customers can check their My Account app or the Comcast Business Status Center to get information and valuable updates.
  • Download your favorite shows and movies for offline viewing—With the Xfinity Stream app, you can watch shows and movies offline in case you lose power.
  • Download the Xfinity Connect App to receive Xfinity Voice calls via your mobile phone—Xfinity Voice customers can make and receive calls with their Xfinity phone number using their mobile phone.
  • Visit the Comcast California Blog where we will post information, updates and answers to commonly asked questions. On the blog, we’ve launched a special PSPS web page where you can get additional information.
  • Follow us on Twitter — our handle is @ComcastCA and we regularly post valuable updates.

Even if power is off, Comcast’s team never stops working for you. From our family to yours, we hope you remain safe.

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