Just two months before California faced its most severe heat wave of the year, Marta Segura was named ‘Los Angeles’ chief heat response officer and given the monumental task of improving the city’s preparedness and response in the face of the growing threat of extreme temperatures.
The move was historic: only two other US cities, Miami and Phoenix, have officials dedicated to the crisis of rising temperatures. According to officials, Segura has already promoted better coordination, communication and urgency around the city’s heat policies and resources.
But Segura acknowledges that the improvements are just the first steps toward the profound changes needed to mitigate the effects of dangerous hot spells, which have become more frequent and deadly in recent years due to climate change.
“I think it’s a good sign of things to come,” said Los Angeles Councilman Paul Krekorian, who introduced the measure that created the position of chief of Los Angeles’ heat response. “But there’s a lot more we have to do, there’s a lot more I want us to do, but I think we’re off to a good start.”
Segura is working on finalizing the city’s Heat Action Plan, which he said will focus on investments in more green infrastructure, strategies to reduce mechanisms that exacerbate urban heat, and grassroots input to focus on neighborhoods. more exposed to damage from extreme heat.
Some worry that with Segura’s limited staff and budget — it only has two full-time employees and $1 million in earmarked funds — its ability to make such big changes may be limited. They also point out that her role as heat manager is in addition to her other full-time position as director of climate emergency mobilization for the city.
The current heat wave is testing promises made by state and local officials to better protect vulnerable people from heat-related illnesses and improve what critics have called California’s underinvestment in heat-related safety programs. the heat. Although some progress has been made, there have also been setbacks, such as a proposed state legislation that has stalled. More concrete measures are expected to take years.
Forecasters and officials have warned of extreme temperatures over Labor Day weekend, with days expected to be 10 to 20 degrees above average in some areas and little relief at night.
Californians have been under daily Flex Alerts since Wednesday, and numerous firefighters have suffered heat injuries while battling a brush fire in Castaic. Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency to maintain power supplies and prevent blackouts. These power outages can have dangerous and life-threatening consequences during periods of extreme heat.
A Times investigation published last year revealed that California hasn’t kept track of the number of people who have died from extreme heat, and that it hasn’t provided adequate resources to the most at-risk communities.
Jonathan Parfrey, executive director of the nonprofit Climate Resolve, has been a strong advocate for state and local leaders to fundamentally change how they deal with extreme heat. He has seen little improvement, despite repeated warnings.
“There is a massive failure on the part of public officials to adequately respond to extreme heat events fueled by climate change,” Parfrey said.
A report last year by the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation found significant gaps in California’s policies to deal with the extreme heat crisis and called for a more coordinated approach.
The state has made progress in combating extreme heat, such as the 2021 budget infusion that focused on addressing the problem, said Colleen Callahan, co-executive director of the Luskin Center. That funding is now estimated at $865 million.
But even though lawmakers began this year with a package of heat-related bills, only a handful of them made it to the governor’s desk. Among them was a measure that would establish a statewide extreme heat warning system by 2025, similar to the warnings issued for wildfires and hurricanes. If it becomes law, it will be one of the first heat rating systems in the country.
Other victories this legislative session include a bill requiring revision of the heat illness rule for outdoor workers who work in temperatures above 105 degrees and the allocation of $10 million to the Department of Health to establish real-time data monitoring of heat-related illnesses during heat waves.
In April, the state released an Extreme Heat Action Plan outlining protections for Californians against the dangers of extreme heat. Recommendations included greening schoolyards; the increase in the number of refrigeration centers; better coordination and targeting of public messages, particularly with underserved communities; and planting more trees in urban areas that lack cooling shade.
That plan was an updated version of a 2013 strategy that included more than 40 proposals to prepare for the extreme heat crisis, most of which were not put into action, in part due to funding problems, officials told The Times. The updated Extreme Heat Action Plan has $365 million set aside in last year’s budget to carry out the proposals.
Unlike Los Angeles, the state does not have a heat manager to advocate and coordinate the response to the crisis. A plan that would have created that position failed in the Legislature for the second year in a row. Experts working on extreme heat policy say it is critical to the state’s goals against extreme heat.
“I think there’s a sense right now that something like extreme heat can be integrated into other policies,” said V. Kelly Turner, co-director of the Luskin Center for Innovation. Experts say that work needs to continue, and that there should be an official role to coordinate these efforts.
In Los Angeles, Segura said he is working to transform the city’s planning and messaging around extreme heat. He has launched the #HeatRelief4LA campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of extreme temperatures and how to stay safe. His office is partnering with local organizations to try to reach all Angelenos, he said.
And while Parfrey, the leader of Climate Resolve, applauds the formation of a heat officer position in LA, he said reality falls short.
“We think it’s a big first step, but it’s not enough,” Parfrey said. Segura “already had an 80-hour-week job, and then they added this title to their list of existing activities.”
Segura said that while the additional role has taken her a long time, it was helpful to have her experience as director of climate emergency mobilization.
“I think that since [el calor extremo es] a climate hazard, it makes sense that the official is in the climate emergency mobilization office,” said Segura. “But I didn’t realize she was going to be the boss.”
Despite his small budget and team, Segura has partnered with other agencies to update and expand the map of air-conditioned facilities open to residents during extreme heat throughout the county.
His latest project is a city-specific “cool spot” map that marks cooling centers as well as hydration stations, shaded areas and other available shelter.
Krekorian said what excites him most is the “tremendous coordination” between Segura and other city departments to better prepare for this heat wave and plan for future heat mitigation.
But both Krekorian and Segura agree that much remains to be done. Krekorian wants to see cooling centers expand beyond libraries and recreation centers and use more natural community centers, such as places of worship or local businesses.
Parfrey agrees that there must be better options for those who need relief during extreme heat. He called the cooling center system “woefully inadequate” and said facilities are often underutilized.
Segura said the city also needs a lot more green and blue infrastructure, which he described as vegetation and shade trees, and hydration stations or shade structures. And while the city has access to highly accurate and detailed mapping technology to understand which communities are hit the hardest during periods of extreme heat, LA still doesn’t have a real plan for best targeting and responding to these neighborhoods, whose residents tend to to be low-income people of color.
Segura said his office is working on improving communication mechanisms to reach those “frontline communities.” The need for Los Angeles and the state to better respond to extreme heat is urgent, he said, especially for those most susceptible.
“It’s not out of morality, or charity, or anything like that,” Segura said. “It’s because if we don’t serve the most vulnerable frontline communities and invest in them, we won’t have a solution for anyone.”
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https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-09-03/california-promises-to-do-better-on-heat-waves-but-can-it?fbclid=IwAR1Ip3EHF7fvvH24NkgWLfNT1pZXu94DXO8wC_ThBDsrrZBPIM60evVSA2s