West Orange County CERT participates in community events throughout the year with the purposes of:
- Encouraging area residents to be prepared for the next big event/disaster that will strike Southern California at some point
- Supporting our sponsoring Police Departments (Seal Beach, Cypress, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Buena Park, and Westminster)
- Building comradery between the CERT members (when you work with others, you build bonds of trust which is critical in times of emergency).
Below we provide you a glimpse of what we do and where we do it. After you’ve completed the CERT basic Training, you are more than welcome to come along and join us at our next event.
Loree Erpelding Honored by Cypress PD - At the recent Cypress Police Department 2025 Recognition Luncheon, our own Loree Erpelding was honored as the 2025 Service with Distinction Award. The program read in part: Loree has been volunteering with Cypress Police Department since 2009 when West County Community Emergency Response Team was first established. As one of the program’s earliest members, she […]
2026 Academy Dates Release - The West Orange County CERT program has confirmed the 2026 CERT Academy dates as follows: Friday, July, 31 Saturday, August 1 Friday, August 7 Saturday, August 8 The Academy covers the 20 Hour FEMA CERT Basic training course (download here) and provides the opportunity to put those skills to the test during the full scale […]
West County Shows Up for County CMAP Training - On behalf of the West CERT program managers (Loree, Anna, Robert, Brian and Ed) we would like to thank and commend the following for their assistance during the CERT Mutual Aid Program (CMAP) training at the Orange County Sheriff’s Academy on January 24, 2026. With their assistance, we were able to deliver the 6-hour CMAP […]
West County CERT Assists in SBPD Investigation - As many of you have heard SBPD arrested the suspect in the serious hit and run that occurred Saturday 2/11 at PCH and Main in Seal Beach. If you have not seen the video, it’s worth a look. There’s no blood or gore, but you can see the impact of the crash. Chief Henderson and […] 2022 Academy Recap - It was our West County CERT’s 23rd Academy. It’s the same Academy that was postpone twice, due to the pandemic – the third time is the charm apparently – and things went sideways and almost derailed it at the very last minute. And still thanks in no small part to the dedication and resourcefulness […]
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 […]
2022 CERT Academy – In Person This Fall - We have an ACADEMY! After all the starts and (mostly) stops, we have finally been cleared to hold our interactive, hands-on Academy at the end of September at the Joint Forces Training Center (JFTB) in Los Alamitos. Our Academy is based on the FEMA approved course work and includes fire suppression (yes, you get to […] Start 2022 Off Right! - NOTE: Due to the increasing spread rates of the Omicron Covid Variant, the January Academy has been postponed. While disappointing, it is the safety of our participants and staff that has to come first. We will update this site as more information becomes available. Our Team has (finally) been cleared to hold our interactive, […]