Humboldt County Operational Area
Humboldt
County Sheriff’s Office
Office of Emergency Services
826 Fourth Street
Eureka, CA 95501
Business Hours: 707-268-2500
After Hours: 707-445-7251
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An Overview
Humboldt County Ordinance 2203 established the Humboldt Operational Area (OA) and
identified the Sheriff as Director of Emergency Services for the County. The Humboldt OA is
composed of the County of Humboldt, serving as the lead agency, and all political
subdivisions (Cities and Special Districts) within the County. The Office of Emergency
Services (OES) assists the Sheriff in controlling and directing the effort of the emergency
organization of the County.
Humboldt County OES and the Humboldt OA are part of a total emergency management
hierarchy established to assist all the citizens of the United States during times of crisis. At
the federal level, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) oversees United
States government response efforts. In California, the California Emergency Management
Agency (Cal EMA) oversees state organization response efforts. Each California county is its
own OA. This hierarchy is in place to assist the organization and movement of resources to
areas of need. At each level - federal, state, and local - the response organization has the
statutory power to requisition resources and assistance from other governmental entities at
that level.
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The response hierarchy works in the following manner: When a City or Special District
cannot effectively handle a crisis with their own available resources and organization, they
request OA assistance. OAs will provide whatever available resources and assistance which
can be mobilized locally from county assets and from other Cities and Special Districts
within the county. Should additional resources and assistance not available locally be
needed, the OA will request help from the Cal EMA. The state, in turn, will provide whatever
resources and assistance that can be procured from state assets. FEMA is contacted when
the state needs assistance to handle the crisis. In some large states such as California,
there is an intermediate level established for better efficiency in response efforts. In
California, Cal EMA is divided into three response support regions. The Coastal Region is
comprised of the sixteen coastal counties from Del Norte to Monterey. Any assistance
requests from the Humboldt OA go directly to the Coastal Region which immediately
canvasses the sixteen coastal counties for needed resources and assistance. Should more
assistance be needed, the Coastal Region will contact the Cal EMA in Sacramento which will,
in turn, canvass the other Regions in the State.
The Humboldt County OES manages the OA response from the Emergency Operations
Center (EOC) located in the basement of the County Courthouse in the old Civil Defense
Shelter. The EOC consists of a large room area for displaying/exchanging information and
smaller room areas for specific applications depending on the need. An extensive and varied
communications system allows instant information transfer anywhere inside and outside the
county. The EOC can operate independently of external power sources. Previously identified
and trained personnel with expert knowledge and expertise from county departments, state
and federal agencies, and other local governments, agencies, and organizations meet and
efficiently coordinate the OA response from the EOC. All responders are trained in the use of
the National Incident Management System (NIMS), the Standardized Emergency Management
System (SEMS), and in the Incident Command System (ICS) to best facilitate a coordinated
response from all levels of government.
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