Emergency training moves from fire to flood

With the arrival of the rainy season, California’s emergency response needs are moving from fire to flood.

On Monday, about 45 members of the California Conservation Corps practiced flood-fighting techniques at Sunset State Beach in Watsonville.

“We’ve done everything from how to properly fill a sandbag, passing sandbags, and now they’re building structures. And eventually they’ll be putting in wave wash protection,” said Supervisory Janet Wohlgemuth.

But beyond the training, many members of the organization are proud to help and give back to the community. Many of which aided in the Soberanes Fire.

“Being able to respond into their own hometown, and being able to save communities from flooding or being able to help communities recover after disasters is huge,” said Wohlgemuth.

“It’s been life changing. I’ve encountered and experienced so many things and have grown so much from it,” said two year member Robert Freas.

If more members join within the next few months, the organization looks to perform more training exercises come December and January.