Civil Defense era had Inland Empire up in arms
Mark Landis, Correspondent
Created: 02/04/2012 12:11:05 AM PST
http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_19892621Most Americans born before 1970 have vivid memories of the Civil Defense programs that became a routine part of their lives. American school kids participated in regular duck and cover drills, and nearly every town had an air raid siren that was tested monthly.
Although San Bernardino County lies inland of the major coastal population centers, its residents took their Civil Defense duties seriously.
The era of Civil Defense was the result of the political and military tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union that grew to dangerous levels after World War II. During the period known as the Cold War from 1946 to 1991, the opposing political agendas of the superpowers pushed the world to the brink of nuclear war.
In the late 1940s, Americans recovering from the scars of World War II were not eager to embrace another threat of war and a new era of atomic Civil Defense programs. But in the early 1950s, the reality of the nuclear threat set in, and Americans began to accept the necessity of Civil Defense.
San Bernardino, Riverside, Mono, and Inyo counties were part of California's Civil Defense Region 8. With more sparse populations, the counties in Region 8's vast territory were tasked with accommodating refugees from the large coastal cities if they were hit with a nuclear bomb.
In November of 1952, cities throughout Region 8 participated in a statewide drill that simulated an atomic attack and sabotage disaster. Region 8 headquarters was housed at the La Posada Hotel annex in Redlands, and the main control point for San Bernardino was set up at the Central Fire Station. Red Cross aid stations were set up in numerous city and county buildings.
Drills large and small became commonplace, and citizens volunteered for a wide variety of Civil Defense positions. The Redlands Daily Facts ran a story in November 1953 about a Civil Defense test where 14 small civilian aircraft took part in a simulated evacuation of atom bomb casualties. Local Civil Defense experts believed this type of aircraft evacuation would be necessary because key railroads and highways could be put out of commission by "bombs or enemy sabotage."
In 1954, the U.S. detonated their newly developed hydrogen bomb in the infamous Bravo test at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. The Bravo test demonstrated the problem of drifting clouds of radioactive fallout, adding a deadly new dimension to managing Civil Defense.
Following the Bravo test, the U.S. changed strategy from developing a system of bomb shelters to developing a system of fallout shelters.
In December 1955, the City of San Bernardino completed its air raid warning system with the installation of a 25-horsepower, gasoline-driven siren installed on the roof of City Hall. The other sirens were located at fire stations spread across the city. The huge whistle at the Santa Fe Railway shops would also be integrated into the city's alert system.
An article in the Los Angeles Times of March 12, 1961, gave a detailed and harrowing fictional account of a nuclear attack on Southern California. The article noted that Los Angeles was considered a likely civilian target, and Vandenberg and March Air Force bases were prime military targets.
Maps in the article illustrated huge clouds of radioactive fallout drifting east across the Inland Empire, necessitating a rapid scramble to the designated fallout shelters.
Gov. Edmund G. Brown Sr. came to San Bernardino in September 1961 and gave a speech about Civil Defense. The governor addressed a crowd of more than 1,000 people at the National Orange Show grounds, and he pledged to keep California at the forefront of Civil Defense.
After describing the progress and challenges of the state's Civil Defense program, the Governor concluded with a dire warning: "But now the preparation must be made before an attack. We still have time - but not much. Let us make the most of it."
The Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962 brought fears of a nuclear attack to a head. The secret construction of Soviet missile bases in Cuba drew a heated response from the U.S. government, and brought near-panic to all areas of the nation, including Southern California.
In Redlands, customers at Sage's shopping center began stocking up on essentials. On Oct. 25, 1962, the Redlands Daily Facts ran an interview with Don Thorpe, Sage's manager, in which he said, "There is a definite run on canned goods. We were almost completely wiped out of canned meats, milk, fruit juices, vegetables and fruit." The article also covered reports around the valley of residents stockpiling gasoline.
In 1962, the citizens of Victorville took on a "do-it-ourselves" attitude when they adopted a volunteer project to convert the old Sidewinder Mine into a Civil Defense fallout shelter. With seven levels and three miles of tunnels through solid quartz, the former gold mine seemed like an ideal location. The mine located 16 miles north of Victorville would be outfitted to accommodate 859 persons.
The Sidewinder Mine was fully outfitted, but due to its remote location, it was subjected to repeated vandalism, and the shelter was abandoned in the early 1970s.
Urban fallout shelters usually were located in some type of sturdy public buildings with basements such as a court house, college, high school, bank, or office building. The Sun Company's building at 399 N. D St. in San Bernardino was a fallout shelter, stocked with supplies and space for up to 125 refugees.
Throughout the 1970s, the U.S. and Soviet Union engaged in an era of "d tente," and landmark agreements like the SALT I & II treaties were signed. Funding and public interest in Civil Defense programs decreased dramatically.
In April 1974, the Sun ran an article asking if the city's fallout shelters even still existed. According to Vincent H. Kerberg, San Bernardino's director of emergency services, they were still in place: "We still have them and inspect them to make sure the equipment is in good shape."
With the end of the Cold War, the threat of nuclear attack was greatly diminished. The primary focus of Civil Defense was shifted from managing military attacks to managing natural disasters.
Programs for handling emergencies like earthquakes, floods and hurricanes now are overseen by the federal CERT program (Community Emergency Response Team) and administered by local agencies.
