Did you know that the City of Goleta offers a free course on how to prepare you and your family for a disaster situation? This is especially relevant as the National Weather Service forecasts a likely transition from El Niño to La Niña within the coming months. The weather will become drier and warmer and wildfire conditions are coming back.

Let Goleta help you, your family, and your workplace prepare!  Request a free Community Disaster Education (CDE) course offered by the City of Goleta’s Emergency Services Coordinator. Just go to www.CityofGoleta.org/CDE to learn more and complete an interest form. Courses are also available in Spanish. Watch this video in English or Spanish for more information about the course.

A CDE is a free, one-hour introductory course for groups of 10 or more that teaches residents how to become more prepared in the event of a disaster. A CDE course can be held anywhere and during most hours, such as a lunch break or after hours at a Homeowners Association (HOA) meeting.

Emergency Services Coordinator Michael Baris said, “I encourage anyone who wants to be prepared for the next emergency to join me in this class. This course is great for beginners who don’t know where to start as well as an important refresher for those that may have a go-bag but haven’t checked it in awhile.”

As an attendee, you will learn about what is expected following a disaster, what you can do to prepare your home and workplace, how to build an emergency go-bag, and more. Almost 200 community members have already taken the course, will you be next?

The City also encourages you to sign up for emergency alerts from Santa Barbara County at ReadySBC.org and for emergency notifications from the City of Goleta at http://tinyurl.com/goletaemergency.

Pictured: Michael Baris, Emergency Services Coordinator, with items from a go-bag