With the onset of peak fire season, Sonoma County officials, state lawmakers and first responders are ratcheting up efforts to help the public prepare for emergencies.
Sonoma Ready Day will offer preparedness resources, demonstrations, advice for residents and ranchers, along with 2,400 free emergency kits available on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 10 a.m. Sunday at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. The event runs until 3 p.m.
A $100,000 donation from the Tribal Council of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria paid for the kits, designed to provide two people with essential emergency supplies for three days.
'Our tribe is committed to helping keep the community safe,' tribal chairman Greg Sarris said in a statement.
[Original Article: Sept 3, 2019 - The Press Democrat]
Photo Credit: The Press Democrat
The county can remain resilient when faced with emergencies now that the state is paying for a resilience center at the Tulare County fairgrounds.
In May, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) announced that the Tulare County Fairgrounds is receiving $11 million for a multi-use resilience center to enhance emergency preparedness in the county, should the circumstances arise. The funding will be used to upgrade an existing building and demolish and reconstruct two other buildings on the site.
This funding is from an overall pool of $89 million in grant funds from the Fairgrounds Resilience Centers Program, which the CDFA Fairs and Expositions Branch put together to help support people and communities during disasters, like evacuations caused by flooding.
[Original Article: Nov 14, 2023 - The Sun Gazette]
To help support people and communities during disasters, like evacuations caused by flooding, CDFA’s Fairs and Expositions Branch announces the awarding of $89 million in grants as part of the Fairgrounds Resilience Centers Program.
The grants will support infrastructure projects such as additional safe-shelter space, kitchen and sanitation facilities, showers and related improvements that will protect and comfort people and families in times of need. The same improvements will also expand services and capabilities for many other events throughout the year, adding value to these community assets. The funding for the grants program was appropriated as part of the 2021-2022 California general fund budget.
The resilience centers will enhance emergency preparedness capabilities, particularly in response to climate change. Funding will be used for infrastructure that supports emergency evacuation and shelter of people, pets and livestock, and it will also fund facilities and tools to improve how responders can use these sites as base camps during emergency events. The projects and sites that have been selected were also evaluated to consider their potential to provide spaces that the community can use outside of contingency times. The grants will equip facilities and provide spaces that can be used year-round to offer services and activities geared to strengthen local communities through civic, social, educational, and economic development programming. Business incubation centers, satellite college campus facilities, and telemedicine centers are among the viable concepts.
[Original Article: May 25, 2023 - California Department of Food & Agriculture]