With a smoldering memory of last year’s fire season simmering in the minds of many Californians, the Ready Nevada County Dashboard had added a new tool to help residents in the event of a wildfire.

The app — at mynevadacounty.com/2707/ReadyNevadaCounty — serves multiple purposes, said Jenn Tamo, senior administrative analyst with the county’s Office of Emergency Services.

“It does a couple of things,” said Tamo. “It creates a (guide) for a safer evacuation (once alerted) for residents and provides greater access into the disaster scene for firefighters and medical first responders.”

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It also helps residents chart the progress of the number of roadway miles treated per year and retrieve a schedule of the roads to be treated in various neighborhoods from Truckee to Lake of the Pines, starting this week through 2025.

The minimum space to clear for roads is 10 feet on either side of the roadway in order to create a safer evacuation route. Viewers can also identify the various zones within the county. If evacuation is necessary, people should know what zone they’re in.

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The Public Works Department is charged with maintaining approximately 25% of county roads. During 2020 Public Works obtained funding to treat around 200 miles of roads. It’s already treated 61 miles so far.

“We have an aggressive goal of 254 miles this year.” said Tamo. “This year we thinned out at least 10 feet on either side of the road.”

In many cases the county is actually thinning out up to 15 feet of vegetation, harvesting trees up to 6 inches in diameter, along with brush, manzanita, and Scotch broom, said Pat Perkins, senior civil engineer with the county.

“Our goal is not to take out landscaping,” he stressed. “But if people have well manicured landscaping, we’ll do our best to leave it as we can.”

In addition to the app, Tamo encouraged people to examine the wildfire preparation publication, “Ready, Set, Go!”

“As a resource it helps residents get acquainted with emergency preparedness tools in Nevada County, as well as prepare their homes for wildfire,” she said. “We’re all in this together, and must do what we can to make the community safer.”

Tamo said the guide is updated annually and sent to county residents each spring.

“It covers everything from defensible space, packing a go-bag, preparing for Red Flag Warnings, Public Safety Power Shut-offs, Code RED Emergency Alerts, and Knowing Your Zone,” she said.

William Roller is a staff writer with The Union, a sister publication of the Sierra Sun. He can be reached at wroller@theunion.com