California is in Phase II of the State Contingency Plan for Excessive Heat Emergencies. The National Weather Service has issued Excessive Heat Warnings through Tuesday, July 2, 2013, for the mountains of southern California; through Wednesday, July 3, 2013, for all the interior portions of the San Francisco and Monterey Bay areas; and through Thursday, July 4, 2013, for the Central Valley in northern California. To access any heat advisories for your area, please go to www.weather.gov.
Please select the “weather.gov” link to find out more about weather specific for your area. In addition, please adhere to your responsibilities as stated in the State Contingency Plan for Excessive Heat Emergencies for the Phase II activation listed below:
Responsible – Dept./Agency CA Dept. of Developmental Services (DDS)
Phase II Heat Alert Activities:
· Ensure that all developmental centers, state-operated community facilities, and regional centers are alerted to any Heat Advisories and/or Warnings and Alerts that impact their geographic area.
· Regional centers and state-operated community facilities will implement various procedures to protect the health and safety of residents and staff, including, but not limited to the following:
o curtailing or suspending outdoor activities
o closing training sites that lack air conditioning
o providing for alternate activities for residents in air conditioned areas
o providing extra fluids, sunscreen and modified clothing
o adjusting employee work schedules to avoid strenuous assignments during afternoon heat
o distributing reminders to staff regarding precautionary measures
· Regional centers will initiate contact with their community emergency preparedness networks to identify cooling sites and resources for assisting persons to access those sites if needed.
· Regional centers will initiate contact with service providers and consumers who live independently to provide them with information about precautionary measures for protecting the health and safety of consumers and staff, identification of cooling sites, and other pertinent information.