Nevada County launches Ready, Set, Go campaign and ZoneHaven to help residents prepare for wildfires

Nevada County emergency staff and community volunteers used the Board of Supervisors meeting to highlight household and neighborhood steps residents can take before fire season and to introduce a new mapping tool, ZoneHaven. The Ready, Set, Go campaign presented practical preparedness steps — ‘‘ready’’ education and home hardening, ‘‘set’’ neighborhood posture when conditions worsen, and ‘‘go’’ when evacuation orders arrive — and encouraged residents to know and record their ZoneHaven zone.

Presenters described common home-hardening measures such as installing fine-mesh vent screening, using noncombustible decking and creating 100 feet of defensible space around houses. Community members who survived historic local fires described how neighbor check-ins, evacuation plans and preparedness equipment (portable batteries, generators, CPAP power backups) were decisive in their escapes. Ulysses Palencia, who identified himself as a 211 call-center worker and Grass Valley resident, told the board 2-1-1 receives direct information from the county’s Office of Emergency Services and can direct callers to resource centers and updates during PSPS events.

ZoneHaven is available at community.zonehaven.com; users enter an address and the site returns an evacuation zone identifier to record and share with household members. Staff said ZoneHaven does not replace CodeRED or Nixle, but provides granular zone data so residents know whether they are on a warning or an evacuation order and can act more quickly. Officials noted the tool can be used without internet through radio, word-of-mouth or vehicle-based notifications.

The Office of Emergency Services and partner organizations urged residents with medical power needs to plan for inverters and battery backups and to include critical equipment in evacuation plans. They repeated that personal preparedness and connections to trusted neighbors can reduce risk and improve outcomes during evacuations.

The county encouraged residents who need help with defensible space or preparedness to contact Fire Safe Council programs and the county’s 211 service for assistance and local resource referrals. The Ready, Set, Go campaign materials and ZoneHaven link are being promoted countywide to support faster, safer evacuations this fire season.