Emergency preparedness

Figure 1: Drought is one emergency that small acreage landowners may face in California. In this image, you can see the impact of drought on ephemeral ponds and forage production in panel 2 (drought year) compared to panel 1 (good year). Photo/courtesy Rebecca Ozeran.

Prepare

California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) provides a helpful general disaster guide for livestock owners. You can also watch UC ANR webinar videos about how livestock owners can prepare for disasters.  You can also go to the UC ANR disaster page and read factsheets specifically about earthquakes, extreme heat, flooding, public safety power shutoffs, smoke exposure, and thunder and lightning.

The California Animal Response Emergency System (CARES) Unit is housed within the Animal Health and Food Safety Services Division of CDFA. The CARES site includes links to many resources, for instance on flooding, general disaster preparedness, pet disaster evacuation kit, and farm emergency action plan guides.

In California, “Ag Pass” programs are being established on a county-to-county basis. This program identifies owner-operators and employees of commercial farms and ranches to emergency personnel such as firefighters and sheriff’s deputies. Those who have applied and received an Ag Pass may get access to restricted areas during disasters in order to care for or evacuate their livestock and crops. If small acreage landowners’ operations are not commercial, they will not be qualified to acquire an Ag Pass.

Having emergency contact numbers ready and accessible will reduce stress in an emergency. You should compile the numbers of your: County Office of Emergency Services, County Animal Shelters, County Agricultural Commissioner, Local Animal Services, Veterinarian, and other personal contacts.

Here is a downloadable form - EmergencyContactNumbers - where you can compile your emergency contact numbers and print them. Additionally, know how to access verifiable emergency alerts and updates from your local Fire Department and Sheriff’s Office.

An emergency preparedness kit is also crucial to have prepared before disaster strikes. Common items for a human and livestock emergency kit include: three-day supply of nonperishable human food, three gallons of water per person, any prescriptions, change of clothing, copies of important documents (passport, birth certificate, etc), extra cash, extra eyeglasses/contacts, phone charger/power bank, flashlights, utility tool, first aid items, portable radio, extra batteries, shovel, wire cutters, bleach, tarps, portable generator, animal ropes and halters, water buckets, extra animal feed.

Creating an evacuation plan will allow you to act confidently in the event of a disaster, with less chance of confusion and harm. If you have livestock, think through: How will you get your livestock off the property? If necessary, does someone you know have a trailer you can use? Where is your local evacuation center? If you can’t evacuate livestock, are you prepared to open internal gates or take down temporary fences?

Table 1. Regardless of disaster type, the following aspects of your property should be considered. Table from Ranch Disaster Planning, by Rebecca Ozeran.

Respond

During a disaster, you will need to respond to the conditions as they develop. Make sure listen to local weather conditions (battery-powered radios can be dependable in large power outages) and heed any evacuation orders. Working together as a community to respond appropriately and collaboratively to any disaster will improve the outcomes for you and your community as a whole. If you can, check in on those who are vulnerable in your community during a disaster. This may include those who are not as well connected as you, the elderly, the disabled, non-driving people, and any marginalized population.

The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) is the lead agency for animal evacuations during natural disasters. Additionally, the California Veterinary Emergency Team, administered by the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, mobilizes in response to disasters anywhere in California. The service is used when local veterinary capacity has been overwhelmed and state assistance is needed. Here is a link to the CVET Resource Guide, which includes their hotline contact information.

Recover

After a disaster, it may take some time for you to recover from the physical impacts to your property and the psychological impacts of going through a disaster. It is normal to struggle to adjust to the change that comes with disaster. If you need help, you can call or text the American Red Cross Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 or read the American Red Cross page called Recovering Emotionally from a Disaster.

When you first assess your property post-disaster, survey any livestock that were left behind, look at feed and forage that remain. After a fire or disaster that creates bare soil in large areas, you may need to reassess how much forage is available for you livestock; this 2011 UC ANR publication helps you calculate the cost of forage losses and this 2023 UC ANR publication provides some postfire grazing guidelines. Water sources like surface or ground water may be contaminated by fires or floods, so you can send in drinking water to be tested. The California Animal Health and Food Safety Lab system (CAHFS) is one lab that can do water testing.