Nevada County rolls out Ready Nevada County preparedness campaign and ZoneHaven mapping tool

Nevada County emergency staff on Oct. 8 launched Ready Nevada County, an education campaign to help residents prepare for emergencies — with a particular focus on wildfire. The program frames preparedness as a three-step action: "Ready" (home hardening and planning), "Set" (heightened preparedness during red-flag conditions), and "Go" (following evacuation orders).

The county described concrete actions residents should take in the "Ready" phase, including creating defensible space (the first 100 feet around a home and roadway clearance), using noncombustible materials for decks, and installing fine-mesh vent screens to reduce ember intrusion. Presenters stressed planning for medical needs — several speakers described reliance on power for CPAP machines, nebulizers and other devices — and recommended battery backups and generators for people who require continuous electricity.

Officials also explained two alerting tools: CodeRED, the county opt‑in phone/text/email system managed by the Office of Emergency Services, and ZoneHaven, a publicly accessible mapping tool (community.zonehaven.com) that shows neighborhood evacuation zones. County staff said ZoneHaven does not replace CodeRED or Nixle alerts but helps residents know whether their zone is being warned or ordered to evacuate, enabling faster decision-making when officials tell the public it is "time to go."

Ulysses Palencia of 211 described 211’s role in Nevada County as a 24/7 source of evacuation and resource-center information, receiving official incident feeds from the Office of Emergency Services. Speakers urged residents to form small trusted networks (“Find Your 5”) to check on neighbors during emergencies and to maintain a 72‑hour go bag with food, water, medication and pet supplies.

County staff closed by encouraging residents to contact Fire Safe Council or 211 for help preparing and to sign up for CodeRED and look up their ZoneHaven zone.