SAFER TOGETHER
Resilience in the face of wildfires, floods, and extreme heat
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PAGES 6 & 10 WILDFIRES & SMOKE
PAGES 7 & 9 FLOODS & STORMS PAGE 8 EARTHQUAKES PAGE 11
KEEPING CALIFORNIA SAFE
California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services leads the charge before, during, and after disaster strikes
by Dorsey Griffith
Large-scale natural disasters and other emergencies are part of the fabric of California, with its large population spread over a patchwork of landscapes from high desert to forested mountains, fertile valleys and picturesque coastlines.
One agency, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), is responsible for protecting people and property before, during, and after these events. Whether it’s a flood, wildfire, earthquake, drought, extreme heat, or pandemic, Cal OES is responsible for reducing long-term risks, hardening areas likely to be affected by natural disasters and responding and mitigating events when they occur.
“Cal OES is the state’s hub for all emergencies and natural disasters,” says Diana Crofts-Pelayo, the agency’s former assistant director of crisis communications and public affairs from 2020-24. “When it comes to emergencies, man-made or natural, coordination and collaboration is really key, not just with our state partners but also with local and federal governments and our communities.”
Cal OES’s work spans building resilience; securing resources to help prevent or be deployed during an emergency; communicating with people at risk; and engaging with other emergency preparedness, response and recovery organizations.
With more frequent and intense disasters over the years, in part due to climate change, Cal OES has become more vigilant and nimble.
“We have seen over time the hots getting hotter, the wets are wetter and dries are drier,” says CroftsPelayo, now Governor Newsom’s deputy director of communications.
The agency was formed in 1943 as the State War Council and officially became the Office of Emergency Services in 1970, by then mostly concerned with earthquake response. Lessons learned from Europe’s response to collapsed buildings during World War II
“When it comes to emergencies, man-made or natural, coordination and collaboration is really key, not just with our state partners but also with local and federal governments and our communities.”
Diana Crofts-Pelayo
yielded better seismic safety rules and regulations in California, Crofts-Pelayo says.
Today, the agency’s primary focus is on wildfires.
“We have seen that wildfires have had a huge impact on how we live, work and play in the state,” she says. “We needed to understand that wildfires don’t just happen during one season and are unique in how they touch our different landscapes, geography and topography. We needed to get savvy and make profound investments to ensure we have state-of-theart resources to detect small fire starts and deploy resources rapidly to put them out.”
Cal OES also has invested in its communications resources, particularly those for traditionally underserved populations.
“We are a state of almost 40 million people. There is no majority race, culture or background,” she says. “With so many diverse communities and neighborhoods we needed to ensure that they had relevant information that could help them in real time.”
The Listos California campaign, launched in 2019, represents a new way to help vulnerable communities prepare for emergencies by providing community-based organizations with information in multiple languages and on myriad platforms.
“Being able to have culturally competent messaging with trusted communicators and messengers who can disseminate that information is really key,” says CroftsPelayo.
Crofts-Pelayo says the agency’s effort to strengthen California against all threats is never complete, and emergencies will continue to strike, but its growing capacity and capability to prepare for and respond to them are formidable.
“From massive flooding in 2023 to the devastating wildfires the last few years—the Dixie, Caldor, Camp— catastrophic events that impact lives and livelihoods, the state has done some remarkable work to help people in times of need.”
For more information about the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, go to www.caloes.ca.gov/. For more information about Listos California, go to www. listoscalifornia.org.
Former California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services
Assistant Director of Crisis Communications and Public Affairs,
Current Deputy Director of Communications for Governor Gavin Newsom
Multiple county fire and rescue departments participate in an emergency response exercise organized by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency Urban Search and Rescue Branch. Photo courtesy of Cal OES
KNOW WHEN TO GO
Following evacuation warnings and orders helps keep individuals and neighborhoods safer during disaster
by Anne Stokes
Leaving home and all of one’s belongings behind in the face of looming catastrophe is difficult, but individuals ignoring evacuation orders can affect communities as a whole and cost others their homes.
“If firefighters are worrying about people in their homes, they’re not going to be fighting the fire, they’re going to be helping us evacuate,” says Sheriff Shannan Moon, who also serves as coroner and public administrator in Nevada County. “We need our firefighters to be fighting fire.”
“If firefighters are worrying about people in their homes, they’re not going to be fighting the fire, they’re going to be helping us evacuate. We need our firefighters to be fighting fire.”
and Public Administrator
When disasters happen, local authorities alert the public to potentially deadly conditions with evacuation warnings and orders: An evacuation warning is advance notice to prepare for danger to come, while an evacuation order is a lawful order and directive to leave immediately. Those who need extra time or help—people with mobility or other health issues, those who live in remote or hard to navigate geography
or who have large animals or livestock, for example— should evacuate when they hear the warning.
“I’ve been evacuated several times living in Northern California, and I can tell you that we don’t make that decision lightly,” Moon says. “There isn’t any piece of property worth your life. Everything can be rebuilt, things can be repurchased. I know it sounds like it would change your life—it absolutely will—but you’re still alive.”
Moon says officers will go door-to-door whenever it’s possible during these situations. The purpose isn’t to force people out of their homes, but rather to ensure everyone is aware and able to evacuate.
“A lot of times when disasters occur, stress levels are really high,” says Moon. “We want to try to make sure that we stay calm and we prepare ourselves for the eventuality that this is going to happen, and then we just enact our plan.
The sheriff says preparedness and keeping cool heads can avoid this stress and the chaos that can potentially result: “People are so stressed out that they’re ramming cars. We’ve seen medical issues, we’ve seen heart attacks, all those things, just because it is a chaotic situation.”
In dealing with wildfires, floods and other disasters, Sheriff Moon says the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) has been a valuable partner. Cal OES has provided trainings to update and improve emergency response and—through the agency’s mutual aid system—Nevada County has received additional staff and other resources from neighboring agencies. After emergencies, Cal OES has also been helpful in getting people back home.
“Emergencies are going to happen and we want to be highly trained,” Moon says. “For my staff here locally I say we’re doing really well at this job. We’ve had a lot of incidents to work through.”
“Recovery efforts after an incident with the Office of Emergency Services, getting folks back into their homes and through that recovery process has been critical for Nevada County.”
Sign up for local emergency alerts from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Service’s Listos California program at www.listoscalifornia.org/alerts/.
Shannan Moon Nevada County Sheriff, Coroner
The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office works hand in hand with other agencies and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) to support its residents and communities during emergencies. Photo courtesy of Nevada County Sheriff’s Office
PROTECTING WHAT’S MOST IMPORTANT
State Senator Angelique Ashby shares the importance of having a family preparedness partnership in times of emergency
by Dorsey Griffith
For 12 years, California State Sen. Angelique Ashby represented an area in Sacramento with a devastating history of flooding and concerns about the integrity of the levees built to protect her growing community of constituents.
Her tenure on the Sacramento City Council followed the catastrophic flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, and Senator Ashby was determined to protect her district in the Natomas from suffering the same fate.
“We had to be prepared for a major incident,” she says. “The levees had been decertified by the Army Corps of Engineers, which had changed their standards after 100,000 people were living there, along with all kinds of valuable infrastructure. We had to make improvements to the levees.”
Just as Senator Ashby understands that the government must ensure that levees are strong, she believes that residents have a role to play to protect themselves and their loved ones during disasters. That’s why she has been a vocal supporter of the Office of Emergency Services’ disaster preparedness efforts.
The California Governor’s Office of Emrgency Services’ (Cal OES’s) Ready Reps and Listos California programs promote five steps for disaster preparedness, including having a readiness plan to protect yourself, your family, neighbors and friends. Readiness plans include a list of names and contact information to be shared with each person on the list, along with one person unlikely to be affected whom everyone can check in with to confirm they are safe. Plans should also include a local resource directory with phone numbers and websites of those who can help in an emergency, as well as an evacuation plan.
“It’s good to know where all the paperwork is and any medicines are if you need them,” Senator Ashby says. “You need provisions for your animals or the folks
who depend on you like small children, people with disabilities and seniors. You might have a kid in college you need to help prepare. Understanding where to get the right information and in the right moment is critically important,” she says. “You can plan for that.”
Senator Ashby emphasizes that knowing your safest escape route in case of a flood, fire, or other emergency is just as important. Evacuation routes can differ significantly based on the type of emergency and its location. For instance, a flood upstream of Oroville requires people to head south for safety. If a weir fails in Sacramento, the routes will change depending on residents’ locations.
Senator Ashby attended the Listos California Summit in September 2024, one of several meetings held throughout the state designed to allow local leaders to learn about California’s emergency response system and strengthen community resilience.
“I was incredibly impressed with the number of languages and diverse communities Listos California has been able to reach and to develop community relationships with,” she says. “Sometimes, what one culture or group would turn to as a trusted source is very different from another. Listos California is community-led and engages people and community leaders who are reliable partners, preparing them and creating an ongoing relationship.”
As a policymaker in a large state prone to various disasters, Senator Ashby has learned that individuals must be prepared, and that communities and governments must collaborate to employ multiple communication strategies in order to connect with different populations and regions across the state. Cal OES’s Ready Reps program employs an on-the-ground,
“Sometimes, what one culture or group would turn to as a trusted source is very different from another. Listos California is community-led and engages people and community leaders who are reliable partners, preparing them and creating an ongoing relationship.”
community peer-to-peer outreach strategy, while the Listos Program provides statewide culturally competent messaging, two important sides of the same coin.
“Anything can happen, and when it does, how we communicate about it is complicated,” she says. “There are 40 million of us. The number of languages, cultures, and lifestyles in California is endless. We have people who live in rural areas, on farms, on the beach, in the mountains, and in our cities. It’s different for everybody. We can’t take a cookie-cutter approach. We need partnerships.”
For more information about making a readiness plan and other tips to help prepare for emergencies, visit the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services’ Listos California website at www.listoscalifornia.org.
Angelique Ashby California State Senator, 8th District
State Senator Angelique Ashby speaks at a Listos California Disaster Ready Summit in 2024. Photo by Bryson Hatano of Sage Strategies.
HOTTER THAN HOT
Comité
Cívico del Valle and Universidad Popular tackle rising heat risks head-on
by Dorothy Korber
Extreme heat is not just uncomfortable for humans and other living things—it can be deadly. Comite Civico del Valle (CCV) is committed to protecting residents of California’s Imperial Valley, where temperatures reached at least 100 degrees for 142 days last year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“Imperial Valley summers pose very dangerous hot conditions,” says Esther Bejarano, director of community health for CCV. “In 2024, afternoon temperatures ranged from 113 to 121 degrees, while overnight temperatures typically hover in the mid to high 70s. Heat cramps and heat exhaustion can develop in individuals with overexposure to this heat, and without intervention can lead to heat stroke.”
CCV was founded in 1987 to improve the lives of disadvantaged communities in Imperial County. A key part of that mission is teaching residents strategies for living safely in extreme heat. The organization collaborates in this educational outreach with Universidad Popular, its counterpart in neighboring San Diego County. A focus for both organizations is reaching out to the elderly, who are more susceptible to heatrelated illness and may be living in isolation.
“On one occasion, we learned that an 83-year-old woman, living alone, was without air conditioning for over five days in the middle of 120-degree weather,” recalls Bejarano. “Unfortunately, she had no money to pay repairs for her air conditioning unit. Comite Civico del Valle responded by paying for the repair costs of her unit.”
“Senior citizens are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat conditions,” notes Arcela Nunez-Alvarez, co-director of Universidad Popular. “We find that there is a need for additional support in the form of monetary assistance for utility bill payment and for transportation services to cooling centers.”
A related goal is encouraging people to check on the welfare of their friends, neighbors and relatives when high temperatures reach perilous levels.
“We always emphasize the importance of staying in contact with loved ones to have a plan of action in case of emergencies. Especially during heat waves,” Nunez-Alvarez says. “Through community outreach and education, we also provide fact sheets in Spanish and
“Heat cramps and heat exhaustion can develop in individuals with overexposure to this heat, and without intervention can lead to heat stroke.”
Esther Bejarano
English that highlight the symptoms of heat illness and maps to local cooling and water stations.”
A central mission for CCV is offering resources and education to Imperial Valley’s farmworker community— in particular, how to work safely outdoors in extreme heat. One component of that is teaching them their occupational right to shade and water breaks. Another is how to identify symptoms of a heat illness emergency and seek emergency medical attention.
Identifying those symptoms can be lifesaving, as CCV staffers know from their own experience. Health director Bejarano told this story:
“Last summer, a community member came to a cooling station in Brawley and took a seat for
approximately 40 minutes. CCV staff became worried when the individual could no longer respond to basic questions, so they immediately dialed 911. When the paramedics arrived, they diagnosed the individual with heat exhaustion and provided the necessary care to alleviate the symptoms.”
For more information on Comite Civico del Valle, go to ccvhealth.org. To learn more about Universidad Popular, visit www.unipopular.org.
BEAT THE HEAT
STAY INSIDE air conditioned locations like at home, a library, mall, community center or call 2-1-1 to find a cooling station
RESTRICT outdoor activities to the coolest part of the day or evening
DRINK water even if you don’t feel thirsty but avoid beverages with sugar, sodium, caffeine and alcohol
WEAR lightweight, light-colored clothing
CHECK on family members and neighbors, especially those who live alone
For more information on how to stay safe in extreme heat and other emergencies, visit www. listoscalifornia.org.
Director of Community Health, Comite Civico del Valle
Comite Civico del Valle helps vulnerable community members—particularly senior citizens—manage in the Imperial Valley’s extreme heat. Photo courtesy of Comite Civico del Valle
FIRE ON THE FRONTIER
United Way of Northern California builds resilience in California’s most fire-prone regions
by Andy Furillo
Don’t Wait, Evacuate”—in the far north of California, widespread and deadly wildfires have tragically fused with everyday life. Eight times since 2018, major wildfires in the region have burned more than 3.3 million acres and killed 111 people. Preparedness has become a way of life for the United Way of Northern California, which serves nine of the state’s counties hardest hit by wildfires.
“I grew up here in far northern California, and it wasn’t something that we talked about until we experienced it,” says United Way of Northern California Chief Executive Officer Kalie Brisbon. “Now, everybody has experienced it.”
To make sure that people are prepared, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) created the Ready Reps and Listos California Programs to reach out to traditionally hard-to-reach populations, with on-the-ground community outreach.
Whether difficulties accessing life saving info stem from language, cultural, disability, poverty, mobility or other issues—or even if some of the folks in the wilds of the Sierra and Cascades are just wary of outsiders— these programs are making a difference.
“We look at the frontier and the very rural communities, communities that have one way in and one way out, that are very mountainous,” Brisbon says. “We need to ensure that we get our educators in those communities to spread the message of preparedness and to prepare for public-safety power shutoffs. Indigenous people, people of color, people on the rural frontier have different mindsets, and we work to meet them where they are at.”
In Brisbon, the folks in the rural north are dealing with a person who has been affected by fire first-hand. She was an evacuee of the 2018 Carr Fire in Shasta and Trinity counties that killed eight people and destroyed more than 1,600 structures. That’s when she first came to know the United Way of Northern California.
“It was a serendipitous way for me to meet the agency, to see how compassionate and kind they were,” Brisbon says.
Brisbon liked them so much she went to work for them—first as program manager for the United Way’s 2-1-1 NorCal, then as Chief Operating Officer. She was promoted to CEO in March.
Recovery from fire devastation has become tougher as blazes burn longer, hotter and more frequently, while the state’s resources to respond to putting out blazes and helping with recovery become more and more stretched.
The alternative for people in the United Way of Northern California’s service zone is to do everything they can to protect their homes and property, and to be ready to fly when the sparks do.
“We have to prepare ourselves to be as efficient as possible because we don’t know what can be provided,” Brisbon says. “We kind of grew up with this mentality that someone would come and save us. What’s true is we need to save ourselves and our neighborhoods and look out for our communities. The state will do the best it can, but we need to know that when disasters are going on all over the state, their resources are limited.”
For more information about the United Way of Northern California, go to www.norcalunitedway.org.
“We kind of grew up with this mentality that someone would come and save us. What’s true is we need to save ourselves and our neighborhoods and look out for our communities.”
PLAN AHEAD FOR WILDFIRES
DECIDE on a meeting location if you have to evacuate and designate a contact person outside of the immediate area in case of separation or downed phone networks
KNOW your evacuation zones and practice multiple escape routes
MAKE arrangement for pets and larger animals like livestock
IDENTIFY neighbors to take with you
For more information on how to prepare for and stay safe during wildfire events and other emergencies, visit www.listoscalifornia.org.
Kalie Brisbon Chief Executive Officer, United Way of Northern California
Katie Brisbon, chief executive officer of the United Way of Northern California, works to build communications with rural and hard-to-reach communities. Photo by Jason Cassidy
HEALING AFTER THE FLOOD
Strength through culturally rooted mental health support
by M.S. Enkoji
After wildfire sweeps through or floodwaters subside, what remains can be as destructive as any force of nature: Trauma. In addition to that trauma, there can also be a cultural aversion to seeking outward help to process and heal from it. Dao Lor knows the problem all too well.
“My father does not talk about how he feels. I can see it reflected in the community,” says Lor, program manager of The Fresno Center (TFC), a nonprofit organization founded in 1991. “Mental health does not exist in any Asian culture.”
TFC was founded to serve Southeast Asian refugees—primarily Hmong, but also Cambodian, Lao, Thai, and Vietnamese—who relocated to Fresno County after the Vietnam War, and the American-born generations that have followed. It serves as a trusted resource in the Asian community, where clients come for all manner of help.
Besides providing food, clothing, even toothbrushes, TFC advocates with elected officials, law enforcement and resource agencies, which are often mistrusted among immigrant communities. It is also a one-stop center for mental health, community resources and crisis services.
The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), which runs campaigns like Listos California and the Ready Reps program—grants money to TFC to help the community prepare for disasters like flooding and extreme heat, and to participate in creating and maintaining an online resource guide and other outreach materials to keep the community safe when disaster strikes.
As an example of TFC’s wide-ranging services, Lor recalls an incident last year in which two Hmong sisters—aged 18 and 25—were killed when an SUV plowed into their Fresno home during a high speed police pursuit. TFC advocated for the family and connected them to needed resources.
TFC’s outpatient mental health clinic offers marriage and family therapists and other professionals who provide culturally relevant services. And despite the cultural skepticism toward mental health, TFC is making significant inroads—Lor says more and more
“We
are able to do what we do because of the 30 years of trust
that we built by hiring staff who are able to provide culturally sensitive services, speak the same languages, share the same or similar cultural upbringing, and so on.”
people are seeking help after disasters as widespread as wildfires and as personal as a house fire.
“We built a room that is tropical looking with greens and bamboo. This is the home country for them,” Lor says. In a culture that believes it’s taboo to talk about mental health, parents talk about losing children; children talk about losing parents.
Without the cultural connection, some of these clients may never seek help, Lor says.
“Cultural relevance plays a crucial role, in my opinion. We are able to do what we do because of the 30 years of trust that we built by hiring staff who are able to provide culturally sensitive services, speak the same languages, share the same or similar cultural upbringing, and so on.”
Since its founding, the center’s services have expanded to include various social support programs, including food services, emergency response, and COVID-19 education. TFC endeavors to provide service to people from all communities in need and has staff who speak Spanish, Arabic and Punjabi and various Southeast Asian languages.
“We really are trying to expand to include all other ethnicities,” Lor says.
For more information about The Fresno Center, go to www. fresnocenter.org.
TURN AROUND, DON’T DROWN!
VISIT the FEMA Flood Map Service Center at www.msc.fema.gov/portal/home to find your local flood risks and flood-prone areas
ELEVATE appliances, furniture and valuables to the highest part of your home
TURN AROUND, don’t drown! Don’t walk, swim or drive through floodwaters
IF TRAPPED by floodwaters, move to higher floors or roof (but not attics). If in your car, stay inside unless water is rising, then get on the roof
STAY OFF BRIDGES over fast-moving water as they can give way unexpectedly
For more information on how to prepare for and stay safe during floods and other emergencies, visit www.listoscalifornia.org.
Dao Lor Program Manager, The Fresno Center
As a trusted messenger within the Asian community, The Fresno Center connects with community members to educate them about the importance of disaster preparedness. Photo courtesy of The Fresno Center
NEIGHBORHOOD HEROES
Long Beach’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) trains volunteers to step up when disaster hits
by M.S. Enkoji
A6.4 earthquake shook Long Beach in 1933, killing at least 120 people who were mostly crushed in inadequate masonry buildings. Building standards changed immediately throughout the Los Angeles Basin to save lives, but the risk of deadly quakes will always threaten the harbor city perched on man-made land.
Unlike in the 1930s, Long Beach now has the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), a network of volunteers with vital knowledge and training to help themselves and their neighbors during disasters.
“Volunteers are the first to arrive in many instances,” says Jacob Heflin, battalion chief with the Long Beach Fire Department. Heflin also leads up CERT through the Friends of the Long Beach Firefighters. CERT volunteers respond to disasters in their own neighborhoods, as first responders are often stretched thin during massive disasters—like fires or destructive earthquakes—in urban areas. The more volunteers can help, the more emergency personnel can focus on more skilled tasks.
“We realize as firefighters that when a large-scale disaster occurs, we have to leverage those resources where we can do the greatest good,” Heflin says. “It’s going to take time for additional resources to get into our community.”
CERT started with the Los Angeles City Fire Department in 1985 and has grown to establish teams in all 50 states, some territories and tribal nations, and is coordinated through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
There are more than 450 CERT programs in California, which also work in conjunction with the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES).
In Long Beach, volunteers sign up for 21 hours of training, which includes a simulated disaster at the end to test their skills. Besides basic first aid, volunteers learn skills such as how to assess whether a building has suffered light or heavy damage before trying to enter it, how to form search patterns and how to turn off gas lines. Medical training includes treating heavy bleeding, shock, hyperthermia, and how to triage. Volunteer training focuses on disasters most likely to occur in their region. Long Beach, built on miles of pipelines and reshaped by waterlogged silt to carve out the Los Angeles Harbor, is susceptible to earthquake disasters. Spreading the word about how to protect oneself - “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” - is vital in this community. Resulting tsunamis and fires are also possibilities they are trained to face.
“It’s doing the greatest good for the greatest amount of people in the shortest amount of time.”
Volunteers learn how to form effective command structures. They even delve into disaster psychology, such as how to express sympathy and what to say or what not to say to victims in distress.
“It’s doing the greatest good for the greatest amount of people in the shortest amount of time,” says Heflin, a 25-year-veteran of the department.
About 2,000 volunteers are on the Long Beach CERT newsletter list. There are about 500 on the waiting list. The community is eager for the training, Heflin says, because people realize the possibility of what can happen and the limitation of emergency services in a disaster. Participants are all ages and come from all backgrounds.
CERT also sends out teams beyond their neighborhoods. They have filled sandbags for storms and knocked on doors to inform residents of impending disasters. During the disastrous wildfires in Los Angeles County in January 2025, Long Beach CERT volunteered in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood in Los Angeles, where team members distributed protective equipment to residents as they were allowed to return to their homes after the fire.
One important thing people can do without formal training, Heflin says, is to get to know their neighbors: There’s power in community. Mine all know I’m a firefighter. Neighbors are often the first ones on the scene during a disaster, knowing them ahead of time can make you that much safer.
For more information about Long Beach’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), visit www.longbeach. gov/fire/community-outreach/cert/. To learn more about the Friends of Long Beach Firefighters, go to www. friendsoflbfire.org.
DROP, COVER AND HOLD ON
IDENTIFY movable hazards like mirrors, bookshelves, water heaters and refrigerators
SECURE them with straps, hooks or latches
KEEP heavy or large items away from escape routes, beds and couches
DROP where you are to your hands and knees
COVER your head and neck and crawl to a protected space or interior wall
IF OUTSIDE, stay in open spaces and away from buildings, power lines and trees
HOLD on until the shaking stops
For more information on how to prepare for and stay safe during and after earthquakes and other emergencies, visit www.listoscalifornia.org.
Jacob Heflin
Long Beach Fire Department Battalion Chief and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program Manager
The Long Beach Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) is a network of volunteers with vital knowledge and training to help themselves and their neighbors during disasters. Photo courtesy of Long Beach Community Response Team
LIFESAVING LOTERÍA
Community Emergency Response Volunteers use Cultural connection to prepare families to weather what’s next
by Jason Cassidy
When severe storms batter California’s central coast, bringing high winds and further risks of falling trees, flooding, and power outages, vulnerable people and traditionally underserved communities are often the hardest hit. Community Emergency Response Volunteers (CERV) of the Monterey Peninsula is working to change that by ensuring all of the region’s residents are properly prepared before disaster strikes.
“CERV’s approach is to try to serve the most vulnerable in the county,” says Harvey Pressman, the organization’s director of grants. “So, a lot of our work is focused on people with disabilities, farmworker families, etc.”
CERV’s role is to increase emergency preparedness, foster community resilience and bolster the community’s response when serious storms and other disasters strike. This is achieved via the operation of readiness campaigns, co-sponsoring community events and workshops, grant-writing and partnering with grassroots, community-based organizations.
Pressman says CERV is currently working with 15 such local groups including Special Kids Connect (SKC), a Salinas-based organization that raises awareness and provides support for thousands of area children with developmental disabilities.
Pressman points to one CERV-supported SKC project he says has been particularly successful in promoting disaster readiness—Lotería Nights. Similar to bingo, lotería is a traditional Mexican game that features cards with colorful pictures of familiar objects and the corresponding name printed below the image. The custom cards created for the SKC’s events have images of items such as three jugs of water or a phone charger. As the children and their families play the game, they learn that the cards depict items they should have prepared when a major storm is about to make landfall or when other disasters strike.
The effort is part of the Listos California statewide outreach project, which was launched by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) to ready the state’s most vulnerable groups for disasters. As part of its grant-funding, CERV is required to
document stories of each project’s effectiveness. The report for this SKC’s Lotería Nights, written by Dylan Hoffman, reads in part: “The event was a huge success. The community found joy in connecting with each other, engaging in a family-friendly event, and making life-changing connections along the way. … Lotería nights make natural vehicles for this type of education, because they bolster two practices that are, in themselves, keys to disaster preparedness: community building and family involvement. The kids are active participants in these events.”
“Most of the materials we distribute—Monterey County has the largest number of immigrants of any county in California—I would guess like 80 percent of them are in Spanish,” Pressman says. “And for practically every document that Listos has there’s a Spanish version.”
Speaking about severe storms, Pressman says, “People have to be prepared for fairly long periods without power. So, what do you need to make sure you have? You don’t have lights, you don’t have water, you don’t have the capacity to cook any food.”
For more information about Community Emergency Response Volunteers (CERV) of the Monterey Peninsula and Special Kids Connect, visit their respective sites at cerv501c3.org and specialkidsconnect.org.
“Most of the materials we distribute—Monterey County has the largest number of immigrants of any county in California—I would guess like 80 percent of them are in Spanish. And for practically every document that Listos has there’s a Spanish version.”
SEVERE STORM SAFETY
BE AWARE of your surroundings and be on the lookout for falling trees
SECURE outdoor objects and remove debris that could cause damage in high winds
STAY AWAY from downed power lines and report them immediately
PREPARE for power outages with batteries and generators (operated outside at least 20 feet from doors and windows)
For more information on how to prepare for and stay safe during severe storms and other emergencies, visit www.listoscalifornia.org.
Harvey Pressman Director of Grants, Community Emergency Response Volunteers of the Monterey Peninsula
Community Emergency Response Volunteers (CERV) of the Monterey Peninsula prepares community members for emergencies through workshops and community events such as Loteria Nights. Photo courtesy of Community Emergency Response Volunteers of the Monterey Peninsula
COMING UP FOR AIR
LA nonprofit Down But Not Out helps the unhoused find protection and respite from wildfire smoke
by Anne Stokes
As wildfires rage—and even after containment— the resulting smoke, particulate matter and toxic chemicals create air that’s too hazardous to breathe. Under such conditions, people are advised to stay inside, use air-purifying HEPA filters and wear N95 masks. But what do you do when you have no home to go to?
“How do you tell a person that’s homeless not to go out?” asks Arodi Bautista, president of Down But Not Out, a Los Angeles nonprofit dedicated to helping those experiencing homelessness and low-income households. “A lot of these people have to look for masks, for resources, or stay somewhere indoors, but there’s really not that many places. So we took it upon ourselves to give out as many masks as we could, give out as many hygiene kits, and help them kind of look for resources and where they could go because the air quality was pretty bad.”
Down But Not Out assists not only with daily necessities like hygiene kits and food, but also by connecting those in need with government resources, such as shelter and housing information. Bautista notes that it’s a challenge to find resources for the unhoused even under non-emergency circumstances. During natural disasters, these limited resources—like temporary housing and N95 masks—run out quickly.
In 2023, Down But Not Out received a grant from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) to support their outreach efforts through March 2025. That support included outreach and preparedness training for staff and volunteers and outreach tools in multiple languages.
“One of the reasons why this Cal OES grant was such a perfect fit was because we constantly and only really serve the low income/unhoused population demographic. Usually they don’t hear much about emergency resources, even at the shelters that they stay at, much less anybody coming knocking at their door in a low-income area talking about emergency resources
“How do you tell a person that’s homeless not to go out? A lot of these people have to look for masks, for resources, or stay somewhere indoors, but there’s really not that many places.”
Arodi Bautista President, Down But Not Out
and how to prepare,” Bautisata says. “They made it really clear on what emergency preparedness is and how you should educate the demographic that you help. And it really made it a lot easier.”
Down But Not Out hasn’t been the only organization to benefit from Cal OES’s support. As they work with other groups and nonprofits, they’ve been able to introduce and share these outreach practices and resources with others in the community.
SIGN UP FOR ALERTS: Free emergency alerts are available and provided by your county. Go to Listoscalifornia.org/Alerts to sign up
HAVE A PLAN: If there was an evacuation, where would you go to meet loved ones?
MAKE A STAY BOX with supplies to stay home for at least 3 days
PACK A GO BAG with clothes, medications, flashlight, batteries, snacks and a phone charger
HELP OTHERS be ready if they are in need
For more information on how to prepare for and stay safe during severe storms and other emergencies, visit www.listoscalifornia.org.
“It’s very practical, like insanely practical, because it’s so well structured,” he says of Cal OES’s support. “It’s up to us as an organization to see how we could fit that message into the people that we help. So that’s our job.”
To learn more about Down But Not Out, go to dbnohelps. com.
Down But Not Out serves homeless and low-income communities, helping to ensure they’re supported during emergencies. Photo courtesy of Down But Not Out
COMPASSION AND RELIEF
Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation engages hard-to-reach populations about the importance of emergency preparedness
by M.S. Enkoji
Sitting in the dark with no power is the wrong time to contemplate what you need to do in case of emergency: “When the power is out and you want to prepare, it’s too late,” says Erika Wang, program manager for Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation.
Preparing in advance is a constant message Wang emphasizes through her work with Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, an international humanitarian organization founded in Taiwan that spread to the U.S. in 1989 and is now in 25 states. The organization’s name translates to “compassion and relief.”
The foundation’s disaster relief provides financial support, supplies and other relief efforts during disasters such as the 2021 earthquake in Haiti and 2023’s wildfires on Maui. They helped during the Los Angeles wildfires in January 2025, and kept working as heavy rains in the fire-ravaged region caused mudslides and power outages that affected 200,000 households and businesses.
“It’s not just about giving out food and water,” Wang says, adding that power companies rely on communitybased organizations like Tzu Chi to keep people informed.
As program manager at the organization’s San Dimas national headquarters, Wang is responsible for conveying information from disaster relief officials to the widest population possible, including immigrants, senior citizens and those with limited English proficiency. Part of that effort for her is reaching people and talking face to face at events like food distributions in the Inland Empire.
Trained volunteers educate people about preparedness before disaster strikes and the importance of signing up for phone alerts for all disasters with the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) at listoscalifornia.org.
Local power providers also provide power outage information with real time updates, she says. They also provide what’s called medical baseline discounts for those who rely on power for life-saving equipment like ventilators. Those programs also provide extra service
“It’s not just about giving out food and water.”
during power outages to those households. Signing up for alerts from your phone company is the first step to accessing these services.
Some basic points she stresses are making an emergency plan to share with your family; keeping a go-bag with money, medication, documents, a phone charger and important keys on-hand; and providing for your pets with food and medications.
For extended power outages, a “stay box” is important, she says. This should include enough water and non-perishable food for three days, a radio that operates without batteries, and—if possible—a generator. By providing for yourself, you’re better prepared to help friends and neighbors, she says.
Educating and building awareness needs to extend beyond face-to-face contact to be more effective, Wang says, noting the group is always looking to expand their outreach.
More information on the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation can be found at tzuchi.us.
DON’T GET LEFT IN THE DARK
PLAN for your essential power needs, including powering medical equipment, keeping medications refrigerated, communications and more
HAVE BACK-UP batteries, portable chargers or power banks for devices like cell phones and necessary devices
HAVE PAPER COPIES of important information like emergency contacts and medications
AVOID opening your refrigerator/freezer to keep perishables cold as long as possible. Use ice if necessary
USE battery-powered flashlights instead of candles
For more information on how to prepare for and stay safe during power outages and other emergencies, visit www.listoscalifornia.org.
Erika Wang Program Manager, Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation
Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation’s disaster relief efforts—financial support, supplies, communications and outreach—embody the meaning of its name: Compassion and Relief. Photo courtesy of Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation
