Fleet Week kicks off in San Francisco with emergency drill
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The Blue Angels will soon be soaring over the Bay Area. Monday is the start of Fleet Week in San Francisco.
RELATED: USS San Diego makes grand entrance into SF for Fleet Week
Sky7 was over the Golden Gate Bridge when the USS San Diego passed underneath, sailors in dress blues lining the rails.
But Monday wasn't about majestic ships or thrilling flights, it was about disaster preparation.
Emergency crews are doing a disaster drill in the Presidio. Imagine that we are earthquake victims and need supplies. They've set up a distribution center where people can come to get water and meals.
Marines from San Diego see the Presidio as a possible landing zone they could use for helicopters bringing water to earthquake victims.
"Do we bring it on by air and land it right here at the Presidio or the Coast Guard air station, SFO or do we bring it in by ship," USMC Chief Warrant Officer Bill Waugaman said.
PHOTOS: Blue Angels take flight over SF for Fleet Week 2015
These are the kind of details outsiders can sort out during this Fleet Week drill so they're ready to go when we need them. "This drill is great. What we really get out of this drill is building our partnerships with our local communities. That individual partnership where they know they can pick up phone, they can call us and they know we are coming," California National Guard Major Michael Riley said.
This is where they propose setting up a distribution center for water and food. They're practicing now since they are all here for Fleet Week.
"The Blue Angels, we have the Parade of Ships, those are all fantastic things but we're adding substance to it. Since 2010, we've done these joint exercises where we're preparing people," San Francisco Dept. of Emergency Management's Francis Zamora said.
They had to improvise a little but when this rare Indian summer rain swept in on the drill, but adapting is good training.
"We were going to do this training outside so that people can actually see but we put everybody in a tent so they can stay dry. If it ain't raining, we ain't training," Zamora said.
Click here for a full list of Fleet Week events.
