CERT Class Coming

Are you prepared for an earthquake or other natural disaster?  Can you be a resource to your family and neighborhood when first responders are up to 5 to 7 days from responding?  West County CERT will be hosting their next class April 7, 8 and 14, 15 at the Joint Forces Training Base.  Contact Corporal Stacy Smith at 562-431-2255 ext 445 or ssmith@cityoflosalamitos.org for further details. 

To register, go to the link below or email WestCountyCertAcademy@gmail.com

https://westcountycacert.samariteam.com/

Area Command in Los Al

Did you know that if you have ongoing quality of life issue that there is a Police supervisor assigned to each area of the City to address or coordinate a response?  Did you know that if you keep noticing a person, car, or house associated with suspicious activity that there is a team of officers for each area who can focus on long-term problem solving strategies to address a situation?  Did you know there is a point of contact for each neighborhood and commercial complex that is interested in crime prevention or disaster preparation?  

In the following days and weeks, we'll introduce more aspects of Los Al PD's Area Command and other services provided to the community.  You will get to know some of the Team's, their areas, and how to contact them.  We look forward to being your partner in keeping Los Alamitos a great place to live, work and visit.

Remember though, if there is a crime occurring now or you need to speak with an officer immediately please dial 9-1-1 in an emergency or (562) 594-7232 for our 24-Hours Police Dispatch Center.  Have a safe day and check back soon for more information.

Area Command Philosophy:

Area Command is an operational philosophy that is organized to address quality of life issues for residents and businesses, over a long-term basis. The objective is to provide a single point of contact for concerns including crime, traffic and other issues that may have an adverse impact on our stakeholders. The theory of the Area Command philosophy is that through more direct communication, accountability, professional responsibility, and strategic utilization of our resources, an Area Command philosophy will provide more enhanced community policing activities. The Area Command is not a replacement of our current patrol services or the community policing activities that occur on a day-to-day basis.

Reports of crimes and activity the police needs to be aware of and address and are occurring now or recently, should all be directed to our dispatch center.  Emergencies should be reported to 9-1-1, and all other calls for service should be reported to our 24-hour dispatch number, (562) 594-7232. 

The Area Command model adds to the day-to-day community policing activities conducted by officers while working their patrol and detective assignments. The Area Command model enables a more granular control of responsibility by incorporating all four patrol sergeants into the model, allowing a geographically narrow scope of monitoring and control of problem solving activities.

For more information, see our Area Command Introduction

Need Sandbags?

The National Weather Service is predicting rain this weekend. Residents who have identification or utility bills showing they reside in the city of Los Alamitos can come to the Civic Center and pick up sandbags.

Preparing for El Niño Rain

According to The Weather Channel, this year's El Niño, which is forecast to become one of the strongest on record, is expected to influence weather and climate patterns this winter. Are you personally prepared? The City of Los Alamitos has prepared a quick reference guide for your use.


Preparing for El Niño Rain Guide

City Staff Participates in The Great California Shake Out

Today, Los Alamitos City Staff participated in The Great California Shake Out.  Along with millions of other people worldwide, your City Staff trained in methods of reacting to earthquakes and other disasters and maintaining our ability to serve our Community in your time of need.

For more resources:

http://www.earthquakecountry.org/

http://www.redcross.org/prepare/disaster/earthquake

https://www.scec.org/learn

California Shakeout Drill

The Great California Shakeout gave Los Alamitos City staff an opportunity to drill for Disaster Preparedness!

Are You Totally Unprepared?

The “Totally Unprepared” campaign is a year-long collaborative effort between Cal OES, the California Seismic Safety Commission (CSSC) and the California Earthquake Authority (CEA) that is helping Californians better understand their risk of earthquakes and how to prepare for them.



April is Earthquake Preparedness Month
City of Los Alamitos Emergency Preparedness

April is Earthquake Preparedness Month

April is Earthquake Preparedness Month, it has been recognized since the April 1906 San Francisco earthquake and continues to be supported by the state assembly urging all Californians and government agencies to engage in education, evaluation of seismic hazards, mitigation, safety activities, and the exchange of information related to earthquake preparedness with other states and nations.

 

Surprisingly, many Californians don't consider themselves at risk unless they live on or near the line of a well-known fault, such as the San Andreas or Hayward Fault. This misconception leaves millions of Californians unprepared for an earthquake.

 

Quick Facts:

• Major earthquakes registering magnitudes between 6.3 and 8.3 have occurred in California every 5.4 years, on average, for the past 200 years.
• The United States Geological Survey estimates that there is a 90 percent chance that a major earthquake will strike an urban area in California within the next 30 years.
• The majority of Californians live within 20 miles of a major earthquake fault.
• Being prepared could save your life!

While California is a world leader in emergency response and recovery capabilities, our responders can't do it alone. It is the responsibility of every individual to take action, get informed, and get actively involved in emergency preparedness.

California Earthquake Preparedness Month
City of Los Alamitos Emergency Preparedness

Keep Powered Up - SCE

Southern California Edison wants you to know disasters can happen any time. Here are 5 ways to keep your phone charged in a power outage.

Keep Powered Up

Promise to Prepare - Ready OC

Ready OC wants to know if you are feeling motivated to prepare after the recent #LaHabraQuake? Join 277,000+ others in OC & make a Promise to Prepare

Promise to Prepare

Los Alamitos to Conduct AlertOC Mass Notification Test Call

The City of Los Alamitos will join other Orange County jurisdictions in an annual test of the AlertOC Mass Notification System on Tuesday, September 24, 2013 at 10:00 AM. 

 

Nearly two million Orange County residents will receive a call, email or push notification as the mass notification exercise takes place.  To learn more about this, please click here.

Power Outages and Signal Lights

Power outages are unexpected and can occur at any time.  Oftentimes, under these conditions, a traffic control signal will lose power and "black out."  The California Vehicle Code section 21800(d)(1) states: “The driver of any vehicle approaching an intersection which has official traffic control signals that are inoperative shall stop at the intersection, and may proceed with caution when it is safe to do so."

In other words, treat an intersection where the signal lights are not operating as if you are approaching an intersection with stop sign controls.

We cannot stress enough that blacked out intersections are extremely dangerous; many people either ignore "blacked out" intersections or see them as an opportunity to keep on driving.  Once again, PROCEED WITH CAUTION!

Earthquakes

Are You Ready to Rumble?

California has a 99.7% chance of having a magnitude 6.7or larger earthquake during the next 30years.  To learn more about earthquakes and how to prepare and protect your family, click here.

Identifying Potential Hazards

Identify items in your HOME and at WORK which could become a hazard during an earthquake! For further information, click here.

Emergency Supply Kits

You can create your own or buy a ready-made emergency supply kit.

The items you need for your kit are similar to the items you would take on a camping trip. In fact, following the 1994 Northridge earthquake, many people, fearing damaging aftershocks, “camped” in their front yards. For further information, please click here.

Emergency Planning for Your Pets

When you are creating your Emergency Plan, don’t forget about your pets!

Your pet is an important member of your household. Whether you decide to stay put in an emergency or evacuate to a safer location, you will need to make plans in advance for your pets. Keep in mind that what's best for you is typically what's best for your pet. To learn more, click here.

Evacuation or Shelter-in-Place

Creating a Family Plan.

In the event of an emergency, does your family have an established plan? To learn more about evacuation or shelter-in-place, click here.

Family Emergency Preparedness Plan

Have you started your Family Emergency Preparedness Plan?

As you may remember, a part of that plan should include a Family Disaster Communications Plan. Follow the link to a PDF you can download to create a card for each family member. Copies of the form (printed on card stock) are also available at the Los Alamitos Police Department.

To learn more, click here.

"Neighbor 4 Neighbor" in North Rossmoor Highlands Neighborhood

The Los Alamitos-Seal Beach Patch ran an article about neighbors working together in the north end of the Rossmoor Highlands. These neighbors are preparing to help each other by pooling talents and resources in order to increase the chances of withstanding and recovering from a disaster.

Read article

A great start for others interested in preparation would be to attend the next West County CERT training class. It is scheduled October 28-29 and concludes on November 4-5, 2011. For more information, check out the registration page.

Getting Prepared Together - What is NIMS?

Learn how your local governments handle large scale emergencies.

What is NIMS?