Willows, CA – Know Your Zone, Glenn County officially kicks off in time for National Preparedness Month. Glenn County Sheriff’s Office – Office of Emergency Services (OES) has developed 165 pre-established evacuation zones for Glenn County, including the incorporated cities of Orland and Willows. These pre-established zones reduce confusion and expedite decision making by emergency officials during a critical incident such as fire, flood, or chemical spill.
The 165 zones are organized into 20 community areas. Each zone begins with a 3-letter community designation followed by the zone number. Zone numbers per community start in the north-west corner of the community or fire district area and are in numerical order left to right (west to east), and from the top of the community down (north to south). Example of a Zone Name: Orland community designation is ORL, followed by a zone number 1 = ORL-1. “This structure was used to make it easier for both residents and responders to understand and use. If, for example, you live in the Orland area and you hear an evacuation zone announced with the community designation of Orland, you know to pay attention to the announcement,” said Deputy Director Travis.
Each zone includes a description of the borders which are roadways, water ways, or county line. The zones are available in a spreadsheet format online that includes zone name and a description of the zone borders. Additionally, an interactive GIS map is available online at www.countyofglenn.net/Evacuations . This map includes an interactive address search for resident to easily identify their zone. When an individual zone is selected, a description of the zone with the zone's name, borders, status, and some additional information will appear. If the zone is activated for evacuation order or warning, or for shelter in place, it will be announced and Evacuation Status will appear on the Zone Table. An active evacuations map is under development and will be available on this webpage soon. Residents are encouraged to be prepared for any disaster and to know their community designation and zone number before a disaster occurs.
This was a cooperative project led by Glenn County Sheriff’s Office - OES with the assistance of Glenn County Planning and Community Development, Orland Police Department, and the fire departments of Orland, Willows, Artois, Bayliss, Butte City, Capay, Elk Creek, Glenn-Codora, Hamilton City, Ord-Bend, and Kanawha. The zones were developed based on knowledge and experience of first responders with roadways, hazards, historical impacts, previous evacuation orders, fire district boundaries and other contributing factors. These zones have been uploaded into the Sheriff’s Office CodeRED emergency alert system for use in geo-targeted emergency notifications during emergency incidents.
For more information on Know Your Zone, preparedness tips, or response information, visit The Glenn County Sheriff’s Office - OES website: www.countyofglenn.net/OES , call us at 530-934-6441, follow us on Twitter @GlennCountyOES or Facebook at www.facebook.com/glenncountysheriff .
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