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

Nevada County emergency services staff described Ready Nevada County, a public-education campaign built on a Ready, Set, Go approach to improve outcomes during emergency events, with a particular emphasis on wildfire preparedness. Presenters urged residents to create defensible space around homes (the first 100 feet), harden structures with ember-resistant features such as fine-mesh vent screens and noncombustible decking, and maintain supplies for a 72-hour go bag including food, water and medication.

The county stressed special-planning needs for people with medical equipment; one speaker noted families relying on CPAP machines and nebulizers must plan for power outages. County staff also promoted 'Find your 5,' a neighborhood check-in concept for vulnerability reduction and resiliency, and cited the Fire Safe Council and 211 services as local resources.

Officials introduced ZoneHaven (community.zonehaven.com) as an address-lookup tool that shows the evacuation zone for every county address and supplements opt-in alerts (CodeRED) and Nixle. County staff said knowing one’s zone can help residents rapidly interpret multi-channel evacuation notices and decide when to leave. The presentation recommended residents write down their zone number and keep it available during an emergency.

The presentation closed with a reminder that evacuation information can arrive as either a warning (prepare) or an order (time to go) and that the county’s layered alerting system includes CodeRED phone/text/email messages, high-low sirens for orders and staff door-knock or tag procedures in active evacuations. Officials encouraged residents with questions to contact the Office of Emergency Services, Fire Safe Council or 211 for guidance.