California Drill Snafu Stirs Concern

Nov. 14--An emergency drill in San Jose featuring a biological attack on a mock rock concert got a little too real today when a non-profit agency mistakenly sent out an e-mail warning members of a "public health emergency."

History San Jose, which sent the e-mail to its board members, corrected the mistake within about 25 minutes. But it touched off a flurry of calls between organizers of the drill and the non-profit.

"I feel so d-u-m-b," said Barbara Johnson, development director of History San Jose, who issued the alert. "I knew about this and I just didn't connect."

Johnson said she was reacting to an advisory that came across the fax machine. She was puzzled about why History San Jose would receive the seemingly real warning that recommended that anyone who had been at the HP Pavilion in the past two days to seek medical treatment.

San Jose spokesman Tom Manheim said the phony fax was sent to someone who was a dispatcher for the drill. But that fax machine is also used by History San Jose, which is located in a city building on Senter Road near San Jose Municipal Stadium, where the drill was occurring.

Johnson got to the fax before the dispatcher, Manheim said.

The faxed advisory read in part: 'Officials have confirmed that Pneumonic Plague was released in HP Pavilion. Anyone who has been at the HP Pavilion within the past 2 days during the JamFest concert needs medication to prevent illness. Anyone who has come into direct contact with a

concert attendee showing symptoms needs medication to prevent illness. A Medication Center is open at the SCC Fairrgounds. Surrounding cities have opened Medication Centers as well."

But it was just part of "Golden Guardian" drill where San Jose Municipal Stadium was doubling as HP Pavilion.

Drill organizers didn't have an immediate answer for why History San Jose had received the fax.

"Oh, boy, I don't know how this got out," San Jose Fire Department spokesman Capt. Craig Schwinge said of the fax alert.

About 345 volunteers showed up at Municipal Stadium to participate in what organizers said was Santa Clara County's largest ever emergency drill -- funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and managed by the state Office of Homeland Security.

The pretend scenario that unfolded throughout the day: Terrorists had sent a pneumonic plague through the air conditioning system at HP Pavilion where rock concert fans needed to be quarantined, then washed down by a hazardous materials unit and bused to the county fairgrounds and other sites to receive doses of antibiotics.

Maureen Behlan of San Jose, who brought her teenage son, Kenny, and four of his Boy Scout Troop 13 friends to help out, and play roles in the drama. She was supposed to be drunk, and in need of medical attention.

Like other volunteers, Behlan didn't quite know what was going on -- which mirrored a likely reality where the public would be in the dark during a real emergency. Many volunteers spent the morning standing around, scratching their heads, asking 'What's going on?' or 'Is this part of the drill?'

"Is this well organized? I'm still on the fence on that," Behlan said this morning. 'I'm getting a lot of conflicting information. I'm supposed to be drunk and when I said 'how about some help?' they said 'why not just walk out on your own?' "

Several other volunteers noted the drill -- held under the bright sun in the outdoor stadium -- didn't kick off well either. The exercise began about an hour late and when Mayor Chuck Reed -- playing himself -- spoke to thank the crowd, the microphone cut out several times. Los Gatos residents Don and Carolyn Davis, both 70, didn't even know where to park, saying the signs weren't all that noticeable.

Others noted that if it were a real emergency, they'd like to see more police officers inside the stadium, if only to make guests feel more comfortable. Instead, most police were stationed at the exits, not visible to many volunteers sitting on the bleachers.

Still, Schwinge said from an "operational" standpoint, the drill went well. All the participating agencies -- including all the cities in Santa Clara County, plus the National Guard, water district officials as well as the Valley Transportation Authority, which was transporting all the "victims" to get medical attention -- were communicating with each other.

"From what I've been seeing," he said, "the resources have been deployed and everyone is following the lines of authority." Plus, he added, all the radios were working, which, during a real emergency, is often the biggest "weak link."

He said he couldn't respond to the volunteers' criticisms, but noted that there is a "normal sense of frustration during these types of emergencies."

"Real events do take hours," he said.

Golden Guardian 2007 events occurred throughout the state today and included more than 3,000 players from 45 agencies including Anaheim, Orange County, Stockton and San Joaquin County. Created after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the drill is the largest state-sponsored, coordinated exercise in the nation.

Contact Lisa Fernandez at lfernandez@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5002.

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