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California: Local Resources

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Cal OES and Listos California

California’s Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) runs the state’s preparedness campaign under the name Listos California, the direct analog to Be Ready Utah and Oregon’s Be 2 Weeks Ready. It’s specifically built to reach populations that generic preparedness campaigns often miss.

A specific focus most other states' campaigns don't emphasize

Listos California has invested more than $100 million in community preparedness since 2019, delivered through a network of community-based organizations, Tribal governments, and CERT programs, with material specifically designed for low-income households, people with disabilities, language barriers, older adults, and residents of high-risk disaster areas, rather than a single one-size-fits-all campaign.

Where to find it: listoscalifornia.org publishes readiness guides in multiple languages alongside the standard English materials.

UC ANR Cooperative Extension: California’s version of USU/OSU Extension

The University of California’s Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources runs the same category of program Utah’s USU Extension and Oregon’s OSU Extension do, administered through county-level Cooperative Extension offices.

  • UC Master Gardener Program: active in more than 52 California counties, requiring roughly 50+ hours of training in plant science, soils, irrigation, pest management, and related topics before volunteers begin community outreach, comparable in scope to Utah’s and Oregon’s Master Gardener programs.

Where to find it: ucanr.edu lists every county program; availability, cost, and schedule vary by county, the same pattern as Utah’s and Oregon’s Extension programs.

CERT: one of the largest programs in the country

Los Angeles alone runs one of the largest, most established CERT programs in the United States, and it’s entirely free.

What LA's program actually looks like

The Los Angeles Fire Department’s CERT program is free to anyone 18 or older, delivered as 17.5 hours of training over seven weekly sessions, covering fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations, the standard FEMA-approved curriculum. Classes run continuously throughout the year across locations citywide. Los Angeles County runs its own parallel CERT network beyond the city limits through the County Fire Department and individual city partnerships.

Where to find it: within the city of Los Angeles, contact the LAFD CERT Unit directly at 213-202-3136 (lafd.org); for Los Angeles County outside city limits, see ready.lacounty.gov/cert. Other California counties and cities run their own independent programs; search “[your city] CERT training” if you’re elsewhere in the state.

Sources

  • Cal OES / Listos California preparedness campaign and funding: Listos California; Cal OES News
  • UC ANR Master Gardener Program structure and county availability: UC ANR
  • Los Angeles Fire Department CERT program details: LAFD
  • Los Angeles County CERT network: Ready LA County