Prepare | West Orange County CERT (Community Emergency Response Team for Western Orange County California)

August Team Training – In Person No Less!

What a great training and meeting!

Thanks to everyone who was able to make it. The turnout was great. It was so nice to see friends and faces that we have missed over the past few years. The pizza was plentiful and delicious. Thanks to SBPD for hosting and the pizza and to Barbara Flack for the drinks. The turnout was terrific, and it was great getting back together.

Chief Gonshak welcomed the Team back after nearly a three-year hiatus. briefed the Team on the department updates, including the new Crops with Cops Garden at the station and the department’s fantastic social media program headed up by Sgt Jordan Mirakian. If you don’t already follow SBPD on social media, you owe it to yourself to take a look (Facebook & Instagram). Funny, informative, enlightening, addicting – in a good way.

Sgt Mirakian also shared that the SBPD will be holding DUI Checkpoints again in the coming months in Seal Beach. This is good news for those of us who enjoy assisting with these community education events.

A huge thank you goes out to Robin Fairman who arranged for Seal Beach Marine Safety Office Mike Diller to share about the Seal Beach Lifeguard and Marine Safety programs, water safety, rip currents (remember, there’s no such thing as a rip tide), and how to treat sting ray stings. It was a great presentation and we all learned a bit about the ocean, water safety and all that lifeguards do.

In addition to sting ray stings hurt so try to avoid them, the one big take away was, any time you are at the beach, and you have a question, “ask a lifeguard!”

Hope to see you at our upcoming events.

How to Fill & Deploy a Sandbag

Filling and effectively deploying sandbags is an easy process, if you know how.

The keys to filling a sandbag are:

Don’t over fill. Sandbags should be filled to about 1/3 to 1/2 full so they can be easily moved and placed.
Overlap the open of tied end with the next sandbag and stomp in place.
When deploying a row on top of a row of sandbags, overlap the seems as shown in the video below.

In Seal Beach, you can find sandbag materials at the west end of the parking lot west of the pier at Ocean and Main streets and at Fire Station 44 (718 Central Ave) most of the year and especially during the winter months. At times during heavy winter storms, West Orange County CERT, the Seal Beach Lions Club and other service organizations will pre-fill sandbags for the public to pick up and place at their residences and businesses. Early deployment of sandbags is important to protect your property. If your property is in danger from flood waters, plan ahead and have filled sandbags on hand.

Check the City of Seal Beach website or call the Seal Beach Police Department (562.799.4100 x1165) for additional details.

Sandbags on a flodded street - West Orange County CERT — **Sandbag usage to keep flood waters out.**

Remember to stomp the sandbag you place down to fill in the cracks between the bags to help keep the water out. Proper placement of sandbags will help keep your property safer from flood waters.

Wildfire Season Is Coming

All wonderful, drought ending rain we have received in California this season has filled our lakes and reservoirs, and greatly improved the ground water levels throughout the State. It’s been wonderful. Of course there is always a reaction to any set of events.

In this case, all of the rain has created what is sure to be a record year for grass, brush, and tree growth. And by the time the hot days of July and August roll around, much of this growth will be brown and dry, setting the stage for a record wildfire season in the State as well.

While, we here in the West Orange County area have very little open space for grass and wildfires to take hold and threaten lives of our properties, many of us own or travel to other properties that could be threatened.

Know What to Do

Cal Fire has created a terrific resource at ReadyForWildfire.org, which outlines their 3-Step process for surviving California Wildfires. This short video summarizes the process.

Most Importantly

The most important part of the Cal Fire program for us here in West Orange County is the preparation checklist. This checklist is important not only for wildfire, it is important to your survival in any disaster.

Grab your copy of the Wildfire is Coming Brochure and make sure you are ready for fire or any other disaster that may come your, or your family’s way. It just takes a few minutes to become aware and could save your life and the lives of those you love. The CalFire Get Set Brochure outlines what you need to know.

http://www.readyforwildfire.org/Prepare-For-Wildfire/

The keys to filling a sandbag are:

Know What to Do

Are you Ready?

Most Importantly