El Dorado Ready!
To keep the residents and communities of El Dorado County safe and healthy, we must do more to prepare for emergencies.
Local firefighters, paramedics, doctors and nurses have come together with a plan to keep the residents and communities of El Dorado County safe and healthy. This plan will reduce the risk of wildfires in our communities and prepare for emergencies by ensuring rapid 9-1-1 emergency response and preserving access to emergency rooms and quality healthcare services.
Wildfires are getting larger, faster, deadlier and more common. Reducing wildfire risk by removing dry brush, having reliable early warning systems, planning safe evacuation routes and ensuring quick response to suppress every fire before growing out of control is more important than ever.
In emergencies like heart attacks, strokes and accidents, seconds can be the difference between life and death. Preserving rapid 9-1-1 response and quick access to the nearest emergency room will save lives.
Preventing Disasters, Preparing for Emergencies and Saving Lives
Many areas of El Dorado County can easily be cut-off from outside help during major fires, earthquakes, storms or other disasters. We must be prepared to protect ourselves with local rapid emergency response and local access to emergency medical care when we need it the most.
Local fire protection districts and fire departments that provide fire prevention, protection, and 9-1-1 emergency response are underfunded and have experienced budget cuts that impact fire prevention work and rapid response to fires and medical emergencies. To remain operational,
El Dorado County’s aging healthcare facilities must be updated to meet current building safety codes and medical standards.
El Dorado Ready: A Comprehensive Emergency Preparedness Plan
To prevent wildfire, protect local healthcare and keep our communities safe, local firefighters, healthcare leaders and first responders wrote the
El Dorado County Emergency Preparedness, Healthcare Access and Wildfire Prevention Initiative to provide a dedicated source of locally controlled funding to prevent wildfires, ensure our first responders can respond quickly to 9-1-1 emergencies and preserve access to emergency rooms.
The El Dorado County Emergency Preparedness, Healthcare Access, and Wildfire Prevention Initiative provides a stable source of locally-controlled funding needed to protect the health and safety of El Dorado County residents by:
Reducing wildfire risk by removing dry brush, dead trees and other fire hazards and adding firebreaks to prevent the spread of wildfire
Ensuring qualified and experienced firefighters and emergency medical professionals are ready to respond quickly in an emergency
Improving early fire detection, emergency warning communications systems and establishing fire‑safe evacuation routes
Maintaining local access to emergency rooms and modern hospital facilities with advanced medical technologies and treatments for heart attacks, strokes, cancer and other diseases
Providing rapid 9‑1‑1 emergency response to fires, accidents and medical emergencies
Fiscal Accountability and Local Control
The El Dorado County Emergency Preparedness, Healthcare Access and Wildfire Prevention Initiative would require local control and strict accountability, including:
By law, every penny must stay in the county to improve 9-1-1 emergency response, reduce wildfire risk and improve our local hospitals, clinics and healthcare systems only
No funds can be taken by the County, the State, the Federal Government or be used for other purposes
An independent oversight committee, independent audits and public disclosure of all spending will ensure funds are spent as promised
Non-residents visiting or passing through
El Dorado County will contribute their fair share to the cost of improving emergency preparedness for all