This picture of an exhausted firefighter holding a cat during the Oakland Hills Fire is on display with other prints at the San Joaquin County Historical Society and Museum at Micke Grove where the "State of Emergency: Disaster Response in California" exhibit runs through Sept. 18. (Angelina Gervasi/News-Sentinel)

County historical museum highlights disasters with exhibit

In light of Louisiana's hurricane disaster, the county historical museum has brought the issue home with a pictorial on California's own disaster relief efforts over the years.

The exhibit, "State of Emergency: Disaster Response in California" highlights some of the lessons Californians learned from experiencing their own natural disasters.

"Earthquakes, fires, floods, that's what we have," said Michael Bennett, director of San Joaquin County Historical Society and Museum. "We think of disasters in terms of events and this exhibit gets to the human story.

"It's particularly pertinent with the hurricane going on. It relates to what's happening there to what happened here in the past."

Using pictures and informational panels, the exhibit shows how California became nationally and internationally a model for emergency management.

The exhibit starts with a large three-panel timeline that highlights California disasters from the Sacramento floods in 1850 to the wildfires of 2000.

Highlighted in the exhibit are some of California's most notable disasters, the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake to the floods of the late 1990s.

By walking through the exhibit, visitors will be struck by the images they see in oversized photos.

Some photos show the disasters in action, such as a wildfire ravaging Malibu's hillside and collapsed freeways in the aftermath of a quake. Others show the human loss experienced by a disaster's victims.

San Joaquin County Historical Society and Museum director Mike Bennett talks about the disaster exhibit now on display at the museum at Micke Grove Park. (Angelina Gervasi/News-Sentinel)

Among the emotional photos is a woman show staring in disbelief at the flood devastation to her Arboga home in the late 1990s, while another photo shows a couple embraced standing among the burned out ruins of a place they called home before the 1993 Malibu fires.

The key to the exhibit is the lessons that state officials learned with each disaster to help them better prepare for the next one.

"The range and intensity of these emergencies helped raise the level of expertise," Bennett said.

As a member of the California Exhibition Resources Alliance, the museum acquired this traveling exhibit. Next March, the museum plans to feature the exhibit: "Precious Cargo -- California Indian Cradle Baskets and Childbirth Traditions."

Equipment from local fire departments is displayed at the exhibit. (Angelina Gervasi/News-Sentinel)

The Disaster Response exhibit runs through Sept. 18. The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and admission is $2 for adults and $1 for children.

Contact reporter Denise Ellen Rizzo at drizzo@tracypress.com.