This week, the Nevada County Office of Emergency Services officially launches a new zone-based evacuation technology to complement the ongoing Ready Nevada County tools and strategy. Residents are asked to visit ReadyNevadaCounty.org/KnowYourZone to look up, remember, and document zone numbers for areas frequented in their daily lives as part of their Ready, Set, Go! plan. This could be home, school, work, or the residence of a loved one. In the event of a wildfire or other emergency situation, law enforcement and fire agencies issue evacuation warnings or evacuation orders noting the zone of the impacted areas.
Authorities will use zone names in CodeRED and Nixle Emergency Alerts, media releases, and social media to quickly notify residents which areas are under an evacuation warning or order. “Knowing your zone details before an emergency will help expedite evacuations should the need arise and increase better communications overall.” Says Lt. Bob Jakobs, County Emergency Operations Coordinator. CodeRED and Nixle Emergency Alerts will continue to be sent in the same manner as before.
“This technology is not a replacement of our current communications strategy but an evolution of the overall flow of information between agencies and to the public during an emergency. Every year we ask ourselves, ‘What more can we do to help our community be better prepared?’ This important technology is the next step and we are excited to share it.” Says Paul Cummings, County OES Manager.
Zone details will also be part of the alerts, maps, and updates found on the Ready Nevada County Dashboard that proved to be a valuable resource last August during the Jones Fire. “Knowing your zone will help us to share relevant information more quickly; however you get your information, web, radio, print or even word of mouth.” Says Jenn Tamo, OES Public Information Officer. Look for “Know Your Zone” links and updates throughout the 2021 Ready Nevada County preparedness materials and community outreach.
Nevada County will receive two years of zone-based evacuation planning and support services free of charge thanks to a donation from the private software company Zonehaven. In February, The Board of Supervisors accepted the donation valued at just over $84,000, which comes after the software company was awarded a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to identify California counties to partner with at no cost. “This is a great example of public and private partnership helping the entire community.” Says Steve Monaghan, County OES Director. Zonehaven also has a partnership with Yuba County to provide the same planning and support services there as well.
For more information on Evacuation Technology: ReadyNevadaCounty.org/KnowYourZone