Preparation and information key to handling emergencies in South Lake Tahoe and El Dorado County

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A fire near Cool, California over the weekend highlighted the need for the residents of El Dorado County to do three things this fire season: Sign up for RAVE, know how to access "Perimeter," and be prepared with a "Go Bag." The fire started near homes in a canyon and the residents were immediately guided on who has to leave immediately.

The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office (EDSO) led an evacuation presentation at Meyers Elementary on Saturday with representatives from Cal Fire, South Lake Tahoe Police and Fire, Lake Valley Fire, Fallen Leaf Lake Fire, CHP, USFS, and CERT (Community Emergency Response Team).

The EDSO Office of Emergency Services alert and warning system was formerly under CodeRED, but is now operated by the "RAVE" system. If one was signed up under CodeRED the information should have been transferred over to RAVE, but it is important to make sure your information is correct. RAVE will have a resident's name, address, emergency contacts, email address(es), pets, vehicles, preferred medical provider information, and other info that first responders can utilize in the case of an emergency.

If there is an emergency in your area, RAVE will send out critical warnings to cell phones and landlines. RAVE provides several ways in which the county may contact the community in the event of an emergency such as evacuations due to wildfires, hazardous material spills, or urgent law enforcement operations.

Only about 30 percent of the El Dorado County population is signed up with RAVE, leaving a large section of the population that won't get the important first alerts. It is very easy to sign up (or check to see if you already are) at https://ready.edso.org/.

If you live in the South Lake Tahoe city limits, still sign up for RAVE along with the City's emergency alerts - Civic Ready. The City's system will inform the public with Emergency Alerts and City News, while the RAVE system will provide more emergency information.

During this weekend's fire near Cool, the Perimeter website provided street-by-street evacuation information, where the nearest evacuation center is located, and, for those who remember the Caldor Fire, the areas that are in the "Evacuation Warning Zone" or "Evacuation Zone" as well as "Repopulation Zone" once the emergency has passed.

Since evacuation routes will change from emergency to emergency, there can be no set routes for neighborhoods. The Perimeter platform will show the roads to use as a route for evacuation.

The Perimeter platform was contracted to create and maintain a website for El Dorado County at https://perimetermap.com/. Enter your address and it will show up on the map as a blue dot, with red and yellow showing the evacuation orders and warnings, and green lines showing the evacuation routes.

This is a simple, easy-to-access site for county-wide information
during evacuations, but is not the emergency alerting platform so residents should use both Perimeter and RAVE.

EDSO will go door-to-door as their primary method of conducting evacuations as power and internet may not be available, then utilize the RAVE and Perimeter methods as a secondary method.

Information is key during an emergency, and EDSO said to obtain information solely from trusted and verified sources during emergencies, including the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office, local police departments, CHP, El Dorado County, CAL FIRE, and local fire districts.

Preparation is also key. Just like a boy scout, be prepared. Not only know your neighborhoods and key routes for evacuations but also prepare a "Go Bag" with essential items such as medications and important documents. Not all evacuations give residents much time to gather items, so know exactly where they are, or have the bag ready this time of year. During the EDSO evacuation meeting on Saturday, all law enforcement representatives said they have seen on numerous occasions that a resident wanted to return to their home for a CPAP machine or medication, and they cannot let people back in.

Also, make sure you carry identification with your physical address on it, not a post office box number. People often may not enter repopulation zones without proof they live there.

A Go-Bag is an evacuation bag that contains a three-day supply of items you would need to safely evacuate your home. These bags are prepared in advance, before an emergency, and are kept in an easily accessible place.

When creating your Go-Bag, first add the essentials:
Cash and extra credit cards
Medications and prescription glasses
Water and non-perishable food
Personal toiletries and clothing
Flashlight and batteries
First-Aid kit
Pet necessities

Next, add some additional items:
Hand sanitizer/wipes
Books and magazines
Trash bags
Rain poncho
Blankets
Laundry detergent
Rubber gloves

Have your pet items as part of the Go-Bag procedure and consider having a separate one for them that contains bowls, food, water, medication, and a bed/crate.