Yuba County foothills fair puts focus on wildfires

May 10—Officials with Yuba County announced recently that the 2023 Be Prepared Fair set to take place in the foothills on May 18 will feature state and local emergency responders who will bring their fire engines, command vehicles, and other equipment to speak about public safety and what to do in an emergency.

Scheduled for 5:30-7:30 p.m. on May 18, the 2023 Be Prepared Fair will be set up at the Ponderosa Community Center, located at 17103 Ponderosa Way in Brownsville.

County officials said this is the third year that the Yuba County Office of Emergency Services has hosted the fair. Organizers wanted to bring together public safety personnel to a single location to chat with residents and talk about the importance of being prepared for any emergency.

According to officials, 37 agencies already have confirmed they will be on hand to answer questions about preparing for the wildfire season, and many are expected to provide both information and giveaways that can be useful in an emergency situation.

"We designed the Be Prepared Fair to be an informal and family-friendly event that makes it easy to have helpful conversations with the same people who have the jobs of keeping communities safe," Yuba County Office of Emergency Services Manager Oscar Marin said in a statement. "The children will be able to get up-close to fire engines and other emergency equipment, while the adults can have meaningful conversations with our sheriff, firefighters, and people from several other emergency response agencies."

Along with a variety of emergency vehicles and equipment that will be on display and several information tables, there also will be giveaways, including door prizes.

"Among the giveaways are items that will be useful for starting the process of preparing a go-bag, an important part of preparing for an emergency. There will also be door prizes that include fire extinguishers and bicycles," officials said.

Marin also said food trucks will be at the Be Prepared Fair.

Agencies scheduled to attend include the Yuba County Sheriff, Cal Fire, Cal OES, U.S. Forest Service, California Highway Patrol, Foothill Fire, Camptonville Fire, Yuba Water Agency, PG&E, the American Red Cross, Yuba County Health and Human Services, The Yuba FireSafe Council, two animal rescue projects, FREED, and others.

During the event, the REACH medical helicopter will land on the baseball field across from the Ponderosa Community Center, officials said, and radio station 93Q will be broadcasting updates from the fair.

"One of the most important things we do at this fair is help people sign up for CodeRED alerts and assist them in locating their home's Zonehaven zone," Marin said. "These are important services used by the Yuba County Sheriff's Department and Office of Emergency Services to immediately alert residents during an emergency."

Organizers said parking for the fair will be available at the park across the street from the Ponderosa Community Center, as well as near the baseball field behind the center. Shuttles also will be available, officials said.