September marks Emergency Preparedness Month in Sonoma County

Residents encouraged to become prepared for disaster
September is National Preparedness Month, and on the heels of the Aug. 24 South Napa earthquake, officials are encouraging the public to take appropriate actions to become disaster prepared.
At its Sept. 9 meeting, the Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution acknowledging September as National Preparedness Month for Sonoma County, which was created in response to Sept. 11 to educate the public on how to prepare for emergencies. This year, the campaign has chosen the theme, “Be Disaster Aware, Take Action to Prepare.”
“The goal of this year’s campaign is to enhance national preparedness by increasing the number of individuals who understand which disasters could happen in their community, know what to do to be safe and mitigate damage, take action to increase their preparedness and participate in community resiliency meetings,” explained an agenda item summary report for the Sept. 9 meeting.
Christopher Helgren, the emergency manager with Sonoma County’s Fire and Emergency Services, identified four disaster situations that are most likely to occur in Sonoma County: flooding, which is the most common, as well as landslide debris flows, wildland urban interface fires and earthquakes.
All four potential disaster situations prove relevant for west and north county areas, Helgren said, though some areas are more susceptible than others. For instance, wildland urban interface fires pose less of a threat to Sebastopol and Windsor than to Healdsburg and Cloverdale.
In terms of achieving basic preparedness, Helgren said that residents should take similar precautions for the above situations, which includes setting aside three to five days of food and water and creating a disaster supply kit.
“Regardless of the specific scenario, whether it’s a power outage because of flooding, or whether you have to evacuate, you should have a kit in your car, at least be able to take your stuff with you for a potential shelter site,” he said.
Sonoma County’s Fire & Emergency Services’ website, sonomacounty.ca.gov/FES, provides suggestions for items to include in disaster preparedness kits for personal, home and auto use.
In terms of mitigating a disaster that has occurred, Helgren recommends pre-arranging multiple evacuation routes, which may vary depending upon the type of disaster. “Your evacuation route for fire might be different than your evacuation route for flood,” he said. “So you should try to have two evacuation routes for either of those hazards.”
While preparing for a disaster may seem intimidating, Helgren said that people tend to underestimate the resources at hand. “You’re more prepared than you think you are,” he said, “but you need to think about it. If you have a camp trailer, or if you have a camping kit … that’s the beginnings. You can just start with that and work from there.”  He emphasized the critical importance of a reliable supply of food and water during an emergency.
Water heaters, toilets, Jacuzzis, pools and bathtubs may act as water sources or containers during an emergency.
“You have some water sources available to you,” Helgren said. “It may not be drinking water, but that’s stuff that you can use to clean yourself and other things. Water is a key component of the disaster supply kit.” Families should have one gallon of water per person, per day.
Another important component of a disaster supply kit are study clothes for cleaning up debris, including gloves, shoes and socks. In addition, food and water for pets should be provided for, as well as items to entertain children. “It can be as simple as a deck of cards,” Helgren said, “but any toys are always good to put in the kits.”
Beyond basic emergency supplies, Helgren said that CPR and First Aid classes are valuable, and that communities have also banded together to determine individuals’ special needs and strengths within their neighborhoods. “There might be an older person that is oxygen dependent, or is a retired physician, or has a special skill set,” he said. “Knowing who your neighbors are and having their contact information and knowing if they have any special needs or considerations or skills that might be helpful for you or your family in a disaster is always an important thing.”
In addition, establishing a reliable communication system proves important for disaster preparedness. “Our reliance on our cell phones and our personal devices to get us information is very fragile in a large event,” Helgren said. He recommends establishing a pre-emergency communication plan that includes identifying an out-of-area contact for families to touch base with should they not be able to talk to each other.
Calling someone out of the area, with a different area code than the location of the disaster, ultimately proves easier than trying to contact those in the affected area, according to Helgren. Texting, he said, can prove to be even more efficient method of communication during an emergency than phone calls.
Fire & Emergency Services also encourages county residents to participate in Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills that will be held on Oct. 16. More information may be found at www.shakeout.org/california.
Those interested in learning more about disaster emergency preparedness may go to sonomacounty.ca.gov/FES/Emergency-Management. Helgren also recommends www.ready.gov, which is the website for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s “Ready” campaign, as well as the mobile apps available through the American Red Cross at www.redcross.org/prepare/mobile-apps.
Sebastopol’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) has resources and training for the community, as well as a Map Your Neighborhood program and Advanced CERT Training (ACT).
To be placed on the CERT e-mail list and to receive notification of upcoming classes and other emergency related information, e-mail

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For more information, contact CERT Advisory Board Leader Skip Jirrels at

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Create a personal emergency preparedness kit
Sonoma County’s Fire & Emergency Services’ website provides recommendations for items to include in personal, household and auto disaster preparedness kits, as well as potential supply vendors. The following is their recommendation for personal survival kits. For more information on home and vehicle kits, visit sonomacounty.ca.gov/FES/Emgergency-Management/Emergency-Preparedness/Kits.
Personal Survival Kits should contain essential supplies to last a minimum of 72 hours. Each family member should have their own personal disaster kit, stored in an easily accessible area. Include the following items:
• Water — six 8 oz. boxes or pouches of water (five year life)
• Food — nine meal-sized energy bars (five year life)
• Warmth/Shelter — one emergency blanket, three 12-hour body warmers, one emergency poncho
• Medical Supplies — one first aid/medical kit, three pill boxes, three-pairs medical gloves
• Lighting — one “D” flashlight with batteries
• Radio — one AM/FM emergency radio with batteries
• Support Supplies – one whistle, three pairs work gloves, three dust masks, one pack wet wipes, one pocket tissue package, one 30-gallon plastic bag, three 10-gallon plastic bags
• Packaging – one bag or bucket with handle
The following personal items should also be included:
• Medications and medical consent forms for dependents
• First aid kit and handbook
• Spare eyeglasses and personal hygiene supplies
• Bottled water
• Emergency cash
• List of emergency contact phone numbers
• Comfort items, such as games, crayons, writing materials and teddy bears