​​​FIRE-04

Coordinate and Improve Emergency Preparedness Systems

Measure Summary

The County aims to improve the efficacy of evacuation procedures, reliability of emergency supplies, and distribution of wildfire risk information. Establishing wildfire monitoring systems to provide up-to-date data with respect to areas considered at high risk for wildfire breakouts will improve Sacramento County’s ability to prepare for and combat wildfire-related impacts.

Acti​ons

Action FIRE-04-a: Coordinate with Metro Fire, CAL FIRE, Cal OES, and the City of Sacramento Fire Department to identify strategies to ensure capacity and resilience of routes potentially compromised by wildfire, including emergency evacuation and supply transportation routes. Status: Not Started. 


Action FIRE-04-b: Improve upon education and outreach regarding emergency supplies, evacuation routes, pet protection, and key terminology (e.g., controlled/prescribed burn, fuel load), as well as frequently updating the Sacramento Ready webpage to include current information. Status: Ongoing.


Action FIRE-04-c: Provide input to Metro Fire and CAL FIRE to establish reliable wildfire monitoring systems that provide early warning of high wildfire risk and wildfire occurrence and include evaluation of ecological and human impacts of wildfire. Status: Not Started. 


Action FIRE-04-d: Collaborate with the SMAQMD to enhance public information campaigns on preparing for wildfire smoke and dealing with poor and life-threatening air quality situations. Special focus should be placed on EJ Communities and sensitive populations, such as those with existing respiratory diseases. Status: Not Started. 

​​Status of Im​​​ple​​mentat​​​ion

​The Sacramento County Office of Emergency Services (SacOES) works with County municipal and special district partners to map evacuation zones and routes. These maps are available on an interactive web page with downloadable .pdf versions in multiple languages. Included for each evacuation zone are livestock evacuation maps which identify hazard areas along evacuation routes as well as potential livestock staging areas. SacOES also has a multi-media campaign underway to educate residents about the maps, how to sign up to receive alerts, what the hi-lo siren means, and general disaster preparedness.   

Additionally, Sacramento County is an ongoing partner with all the regional fire agencies as the County’s Operational Area coordinator for emergency response and as one of many Weather-Ready Nation Ambassadors working with the National Weather Service to improve the nation’s readiness, responsiveness, and overall resilience against extreme weather, water, and climate events.  

The Sacramento County Office of Emergency Services (SacOES) was the recipient of the California Fire Safe Council grant (part of the California Climate Investment Program) established to support a Fire Safe Council Coordinator in building a county-wide wildfire mitigation group and to assess wildfire resiliency and emergency preparedness gaps while developing recommendations to fill them (such as mapping fire safe council boundaries along with very severe, high, and moderate hazard zones), and to develop and improve outreach and coordination mechanisms. FireSafe Council (saccounty.gov) 

SacOES recently convened the 2024 Integrated Preparedness Plan (IPP) Workshop to validate and update the county’s multi-year IPP which serves as a roadmap toward setting, meeting and re-evaluating our operational area priority preparedness capabilities required to facilitate an effective response to all hazards faced by Sacramento County. This coordinated preparedness strategy combines enhanced planning, resource acquisition, innovative training, and realistic exercises to strengthen overall emergency preparedness and response capabilities.  

In December of 2023, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors adopted the Sacramento County Agricultural Pass Program (Ag Pass) Annex, which outlines mechanisms for coordination between agricultural operators and the Sacramento operational area during disasters.  

Recognizing the economic impacts of disasters on agricultural producers and the community, the Ag Pass Annex establishes a program that safely reduces the economic impact of an acute or prolonged disaster on the agricultural community by allowing, when safe, the ability for coordinated reentry of commercial agricultural producers to an evacuated area through collaborative pre-incident planning, coordination, and implementation. 

 Updated 4/2/25.


​​​​​​​​​​​​​Started

The efforts for this measure have started. ​​