Last Thursday, first responders from across the county participated in a tabletop evacuation exercise, utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) technology and input from law and fire agencies to improve emergency response strategies during wildfire evacuations.
“We’re going through a hypothetical scenario and addressing what would happen if there was a catastrophic fire in Nevada County”, said Steve Johnson, Deputy Chief of Police, Grass Valley. “In the room you have the bulk of local law and fire agencies represented as well as state resources, CAL FIRE, basically all the entities that would have to come together and have to address any type of catastrophic fire event in Nevada County."
The tabletop exercise demonstrated hypothetical wildfire evacuation scenarios, using AI technology from Ladris, a company founded in Nevada County. The training was coordinated by the Nevada County Office of Emergency Services (OES) and the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO).
“The fact that we are doing this today, while the fires continue to wreak havoc in Southern California, it just makes it all that more poignant for us to be here doing this,” said Johnson. “Our hearts go out to the real victims down there. It really punctuates the need for us to be doing this before the disaster is on us. We can be more prepared and have plans in place.”
Local Innovation with National Impact
Founded in Nevada County in 2021, Ladris was started by two Nevada Union High School
graduates. Nevada County was one of the early adopters of the technology, today their technology is used across the Western United States, including California, Oregon, Washington, and Texas.
“Ladris provides risk modeling and preparedness to emergency managers, law enforcement and fire. The first responders responsible for making sure the communities are prepared and safe, ready to evacuate and ready to respond to disaster events. We provide software that helps them forecast what that might look like and help them make better decisions in advance and even during those events as they occur,” said Leo Zlimen, Ladris CEO and Co-founder.
Community Preparedness: Sign Up for CodeRED Emergency Alerts
WHAT
The Nevada County Office of Emergency Services (OES) encourages all residents to sign up for the CodeRED Emergency Alert System, which delivers critical notifications during emergencies. These alerts may be received as text, email, landline, cell phone, and TTY.
WHEN
A countywide test of the CodeRED Emergency Alert System is scheduled for Jan. 23 and will run in phases throughout the day by Supervisorial District beginning at 10:00 a.m.
HOW
All residents of Nevada County are advised to register for CodeRED Emergency Alerts by:
• Visiting ReadyNevadaCounty.org/EmergencyAlerts
• Texting ReadyNevadaCounty to 99411 and follow the link to complete the registration
• Contacting 211 Connecting Point by dialing 2-1-1 or 1-833-342-5211.
CodeRED Emergency Alerts will display as originating from 866-419-5000 or 855-969-4636 on caller ID and residents are encouraged to save these numbers.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE A TEST ALERT ON JAN. 23
If you or someone you know does not receive the test alert by the end of the day on Jan. 23, contact the CodeRED Emergency Alert Customer Support team at crsupport@onsolve.com or 866-939-0911 x1, Monday-Friday 6 a.m.- 3 p.m. PST.
CodeRED Emergency Alerts are one of many ways to receive information during an emergency. During an emergency, residents can also listen for high-lo sirens signaling an evacuation, monitor local media and share information among their five emergency allies.
