July 8, 2019 – Peak fire season is approaching and people are understandably nervous after several years of catastrophic incidents. However, a rising number of calls to 911 are not emergency calls, they could be described as instant gratification requests instead.
Multiple calls to the Grass Valley ECC on Sunday for a very small fire in the Bitney Springs area almost overwhelmed the system and tied up dispatchers as they were sending resources to various incidents including medical calls, swift water rescues, car accidents and fires.
If you have the urge to call 911 and ask “Planes are going overhead, where’s the fire?” just don’t. Seriously.
Should you need to evacuate, you will be notified via the county’s emergency notification system, first responders will knock on your door or use their PA systems to notify you of the evacuation order. CAL FIRE has an app that lists incidents as soon as they are posted to their website, many local agencies have Twitter and other social media accounts. During a major incident in Nevada County, 211 will be available to provide updates and resources directly from the Office of Emergency Services.
Your local media is another source for information – we are working in cooperation with the emergency services (Think #ReadyNevadaCounty for example) to get factual, accurate information out as fast as possible.
As far As YubaNet goes, large fires are constantly updated in our Fire News section and smaller, local incidents will be listed in the Happening Now running log. You can of course follow us on Twitter, either @YubaNet for general news or @YubaNetFire for emergencies.
Help share the message: 911 is for emergencies only, thanks!