What is "OES"?

The Tulare County Office of Emergency Services (OES) is Tulare County's comprehensive emergency management program.  The discipline of emergency management aims to create partnerships, plans, and systems to build capabilities and coordinate the efforts of government, industry, and voluntary organizations in all phases of an emergency.

 

Emergency Management Lifecycle

The activities of Tulare County OES can be categorized under the four phases of the emergency management cycle (pictured): Preparedness, Response, Recovery, and Mitigation.  The day-to-day activities of the program center around Preparedness and Mitigation phases, in order to combat potential hazards and minimize community impacts during the Response and Recovery phases.  The following descriptions offer more detail about the activities in each phase of emergency management.

Preparedness

• Public Education

• Training & Exercise for responders

• Grants for public safety & health agencies

Response

Tulare County OES maintains the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for the County and Operational Area.  Tulare County OES also administers the AlertTC notification system and WebEOC crisis information management system.  Click Here to Learn More about Response.

Recovery

After the emergency is over, there is still considerable work to be done to help the community return to a pre-disaster state.  Recovery often takes several years, perhaps even decades, to fully complete.  Click Here to Learn More about Recovery.

Mitigation

Mitigation is the process by which hazards and vulnerabilities are identified, and measures taken to decrease the potential for occurrence of the hazard, the vulnerability to the hazard should it occur, or both.  Click Here to Learn More about Mitigation.

 

Emergency Services Statute

The Tulare County Emergency Services Organization is defined in Tulare County Ordinance, Section 1, Chapter 15 - Civil Defense and Disaster.  This chapter identifies roles, responsibilities, lines of succession, and emergency powers of County staff, and assigns the Office of Emergency Services the responsibility to create and maintain emergency plans and manage the day-to-day functions of the emergency services program.  This chapter also creates the Emergency Council, comprised of the Director and Coordinator of Emergency Services, and one representative appointed by each incorporated city, charged with overseeing the implementation of plans and preparedness measures by each jurisdiction.

Related Information

California Emergency Services Act (Latest Version - 2021)