In order to improve our community’s emergency response, elevate our disaster awareness and prepare for increases in extreme weather due to climate change, the Board of Supervisors, created the Office of Response, Recovery & Resilience (OR3) in December 2020.
The OR3 goes beyond traditional emergency operations to create a full-service division to help our community prepare for disasters, respond during emergencies and assist with recovery.
Our mission is threefold:
- to build the County’s resilience for future disasters
- serve as the emergency management office for responding to ongoing disasters and
- coordinate recovery efforts for disasters that have occurred
Though the August CZU Lightning Complex Fire in 2020 was the worst fire disaster in over 100 years, it is also the latest in a series of federally-declared disasters the County has experienced. While the County has reacted effectively to previous disasters, it is critical to recognize the challenges faced both now and in the future. Therefore, the OR3 will work to prioritize and expand our capacity to respond effectively to the current disaster but also build the resilience necessary to minimize the impacts countywide from those in the future.