August 20249GOVBUSINESS REVIEWegress efficiency. Upon zone identification, its color changes on an online map available to the general public via the Ready Nevada County dashboard. The different colors for zone statuses indicate normal, warning, or mandatory evacuation. It also displays locations for human and animal shelters and key-activated community resources. The emergency operations team then sends an alert via CodeRED to the residents in the zone. CodeRED requires residents to sign up for the service while the county's partnership with their local 211 call center operators drives outreach and relevant assistance.All the zones are loaded into the CodeRED system so operators can seamlessly designate the zone(s) and template messages. The system then sends out phone, email, and text alerts as well as Text Telephone (TTL) for hearing-impaired residents. Nevada County is a high tourist destination with thousands of visitors recreating in local historic Gold Rush-era towns, the Tahoe forest, and the many local trails. To reach these visitors, CodeRED messages to cell phones connected to a network tower covering an impacted zone, with the assistance of the Federal Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system.The Sheriff's Office leverages several technologies to perform the physical neighborhood evacuation. First, sheriff and local police vehicles use a Hi-Low siren to broadcast signals, the siren version European police use. It is distinctively different from US sirens and notifies residents of an ongoing evacuation as they drive through the neighborhoods. This office also employs a Search and Rescue (SAR) team to perform door-to-door checks, ensure complete escape, and assist residents with functional needs. SAR team members utilize the SAR-TOPO application that geocodes each home they visit, logging if the residents have left or are sheltering in place. The emergency operations center (EOC) staff in the command center can watch the consolidated map in real-time, monitoring the status as the SAR teams work through neighborhoods.Telecommunications can be challenging in rural Nevada County, with tall trees, mountains, and deep river valleys. Wildfires frequently start in remote areas where there is no phone, data, or cellphone service whatsoever. To overcome these limitations, the communications platform SatRunner, a mobile and self-contained system, mounts on the back of a vehicle and uses a satellite communications link to create a ½ mile cellphone "bubble" and offer a 1,000-foot WIFI bubble. Together, they enable SAR and first responder teams to have quality phone and data service in the field.The EOC has embraced virtual operations too. Previously, dozens of people would respond to the physical EOC to resolve an incident. During the county's COVID response requiring social distancing, the EOC started using Microsoft Teams and created a site for each incident and Incident Command Structure (ICS) in Teams channels. The system works very well, such that during the last several EOC Team activations, the virtual EOC has been utilized in addition to the traditional onsite staffing, only requiring ICS section leads to work physically in the EOC. This has increased the EOC team's efficiency, member accessibility, staffing agility, and cross-section visibility. Agency Director/CIO Steve Monaghan at a community wildfire risk mapping eventCounty OES staff at a neighborhood wildfire education eventPaul Cunmmings, OES Manager and SAR member deploying the SatRunnerIn response to the increasing risk of wildfire, Nevada County has implemented a variety of cutting-edge technology systems grouped into FEMA's four-quadrant emergency management framework
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