As the ground dries out and flowers start to bloom, Napa CART continues to prepare for the 2019 fire season. The wet winter brings a mixed blessing of full reservoirs and worrisome fire fuel. Individual preparedness is key to keeping your home and animals safe. We have many preparedness tips and resources to share through our social media and website.
Below are a few highlights we have to share from our winter activities.
December 2018
● Napa CART Community Advisors held their quarterly meeting to coordinate leadership, training, scheduling and collaboration. See our Community Advisors here.
January
● Our Leadership posted a year long training schedule aimed at providing our volunteers with the resources and information needed to respond to the animal component of disasters. You can find the training schedule here.
February
● Hosted a two day annual volunteer training. The first day focused on 64 new volunteers and provided an overview of Napa CART and the various positions available. This training was featured in the Napa Valley Register, see article here (opens in a new window).
● Day two trained 47 returning volunteers on lessons learned from the CAMP Fire response and updated CERT skills and Operational awareness.
● Thanks to the generosity of our Community Advisors and donors, Napa CART secured 490 livestock panels, 3 equipment trailers and two evacuation stock trailers, as well as supplies needed to set up large animal and small animals shelters, dispatch and communications. These equipment caches are ready for deployment.
March
● Napa CART hosted a Small Animal Shelter Training at Napa Valley Horsemen’s Association with 67 in attendance. Kevin Twohey of Napa County OES swore in 48 Napa CART volunteers who had met all of the training criteria to serve under the county MOU as Disaster Service Workers.
● Napa CART President, Claudia Sonder, DVM, met with California Office of Emergency Service representatives to investigate avenues towards standardizing CART training and funding within California’s Disaster Response Framework.
Preparedness Project
Now is a good time to start thinking about personal and home preparedness, prior to the start of fire season. Cal Fire has great resources for creating defensible space around your home and fire-resistant landscaping. Take the next nice weekend to trim trees around your home and remove leaves and debris. If you are looking to replace or plant some new plants around your home, consider using fire-resistant plants and materials.
Donation Opportunities: Each donation gets us one step closer to our goal of becoming fully outfitted and prepared for any disaster that may affect the animals of Napa Valley and surrounding counties. If you are interested in helping us achieve our goals, please consider donating to Napa CART here.
Read the PDF version (opens in a new window and includes photos!) 3.26.19-Napa-CART-News.pdf