Last Saturday the Gold Country Kiwanis, Nevada County Office of Emergency Services, and Fire Safe Council of Nevada County put on the County’s annual Health, Safety, and Wildfire Preparedness Carnival. The 5-hour event in the Rood Center parking lot drew more than 600 children and parents! Everyone enjoyed the inflatable slide, Bubbles the clown, free hotdogs and drinks, and the music of the ReWind live band.
The Carnival highlighted the incredible first responders, fire fighters, law enforcement personnel, search and rescue volunteers, emergency medical service workers, and wildfire prevention efforts of the Nevada County community. More than 20 different agencies and non-profits participated in the community-wide event focusing on the health and safety of Nevada County families.
The County of Nevada was represented by the Office of Emergency Services (OES), the Madelyn Helling Library, Public Health, and the Sheriff’s Office. OES gave out 196 Emergency backpacks to children (compliments of the Foodbank of Nevada County!), and also educated people on defensible space, evacuation zones, and the Code Red evacuation notification system. The Library’s public outreach raised interest in their Summer Learning series, which include the Teen Mental Health panel that will take place at the library on May 19th and the Reading Outside summer program for children. Public Health educated children and parents on health issues and County services. The Sheriff Deputies educated people on water safety, giving away scores of children’s life preservers in the process. Underpinning the whole event was the Facilities department, who spent two days setting everything up.
This was a community-wide effort featuring agencies and non-profits from across the county. The sponsors who made this day a success include Suburban Propane, the Nevada County Law Enforcement & Fire Protection Council, local Masonic Lodges, the Alta Sierra Property Owners Association, Briar Patch Food Coop, and SPD Markets.
