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Ready Nevada County stresses wildfire preparedness, introduces ZoneHaven for evacuation zones
Summary
At a prelude to the Board’s budget hearing, county presenters and residents emphasized wildfire readiness—home hardening, 72‑hour 'go' bags, neighbor networks—and introduced ZoneHaven (community.zonehaven.com) as a mapping tool to identify evacuation zones that supplements CodeRED and Nixle.
A county‑led preparedness campaign, Ready Nevada County, used personal testimony and practical guidance to press residents to prepare for wildfire and other emergencies and to learn their evacuation zone using the new ZoneHaven mapping tool.
Presenters described the Ready, Set, Go framework: "ready" for training, planning and home hardening; "set" for heightened vigilance during red‑flag conditions; and "go" when evacuation orders are issued. The campaign emphasized defensible space — "the first 100 feet" around a home — and common home‑hardening measures such as fine‑mesh vent screens and noncombustible decking to reduce ember risk.
"If you are feeling a little bit overwhelmed, not sure where to start, reach out to one of our offices, reach out to the Fire Safe Council or 211," a presenter said, urging use of county resources. Ulysses Palencia, who identified himself as a 211 call‑center worker and Grass Valley resident, described 211’s role in relaying county Office of Emergency Services information to evacuees, including resource center locations and PSPS (public safety power shutoff) status.
Several residents recounted evacuations during the 49er Fire and credited neighbor networks and advance planning with saving lives. One speaker described buying a substantial battery through a local program and recommended batteries and inverters to power medical devices during outages. Presenters repeatedly urged people with medical needs to plan for devices such as CPAP machines, insulin pumps and oxygen concentrators.
The campaign introduced ZoneHaven (community.zonehaven.com) as a simple way for residents to find and record their evacuation zone. County staff stressed that ZoneHaven "does not replace Nixle or CodeRED; it supplements them" so residents will know whether a zone is on advisory or under evacuation order and can act accordingly.
The Ready Nevada County presentation closed with a call to community action — build trusted local networks, maintain defensible space and register for opt‑in alerts — and with repeated encouragement to use county resources such as the Fire Safe Council and 211 for help getting prepared.
What’s next: the county asked residents to visit community.zonehaven.com, write down their zone, and include that zone information in their household emergency plans.
