CORONA VIRUS RESPONSE

All AV CERT public classes are cancelled until further notice.

Weekly AV CERT Amateur Radio Nets are still active.

Stay aware.  Stay safe.  Stay positive.  Stay well.

Are you prepared?

Antelope Valley CERT members learn essential skills

and capabilities to prepare for and respond to any disaster through hands-on practice and realistic exercises.

LISTOS

CALIFORNIA

AV CERT has partnered with LISTOS California as part of the state's public health and safety outreach campaign, Social Bridging Project.  AV CERT team members place direct phone calls to people at risk from COVID-19 and natural disasters.  We are providing people comfort and resource information that social-distancing has otherwise created difficulties in providing by other means.  "With every call, the Social Bridging Project assures Californian's facing adversity: You Are Not Alone."

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Please help AV CERT earn participation credits by learning more about LISTOS by visiting the link below and downloading the LISTOS California Disaster Ready Guide.  The guide is designed to give Californians a handy step-by-step plan for any disaster.

AV CERT TEAM TRAINING

AV CERT will conduct a Grid Search Training for AV CERT members.  Space is limited for this training.

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DATE: March 27, 2021 | LOCATION: Private property in Lake Los Angeles, CA | TIME: 0800 to 1100 hrs | INFO:  COVID-19 safety protocols mandatory | TOPICS:  Search & rescue, grid-search patterns and practice, CERT communications, and Incident Command System operations​. |This event is not open to the public.

FREE CERT FOCUSED ONLINE COURSES

Los Angeles Fire Department CERT offers free online training courses in community disaster preparedness, communications, and more.AV CERT encourages our team members as well as anyone interested in becoming a CERT member sign-up and participate in any of the available courses.  New courses posted monthly.

*The above link will take you to LAFD CERT's Eventbrite page.

AV CERT ASSISTS WITH MASS COVID-19 COMMUNITY VACCINATION SITE

The City of Lancaster, in partnership with Kaiser Permanente, called upon the volunteer strength of AV CERT to serve in several volunteer staffing roles at the mass COVID-19 community vaccination site which opened this week at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds.

From Monday March 8th thru Friday March 12th, AV CERT coordinated the response of 15 AV CERT members to the vaccination site. These AV CERT members provided 185.5 volunteer hours to the site. This AV CERT volunteer time translates to an approximate payroll savings value of $5,046 to the City of Lancaster for on-site volunteer work performed. Additionally, AV CERT members provided several additional hours of off-site volunteer time to coordinate our response.

It was a pleasure to partner with the City of Lancaster and serve on the frontlines of this momentous community vaccination effort. We remain committed to serving the Antelope Valley by helping to increase the area's overall level of disaster readiness with our well-trained & equipped Community Emergency Response Team members.

Thank you City of Lancaster, CA and Kaiser Permanente for the opportunity to serve.  We deeply appreciate the time and effort of our AV CERT members.

From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, AV CERT has been a partner to local government , local public safety agencies, and the community by assisting at COVID-19 test sites, COVID-19 vulnerable population food drives and home deliveries, recovery efforts at home sites and repopulation of homes in wildfire affected areas, and more. The hundreds of volunteer hours logged so far during this pandemic have been made possible by our dedicated AV CERT members who proudly answer the call to serve.

AV CERT ASSISTS WITH SEARCH FOR CRITICAL MISSING CHILD

On March 8th, 2021, at approximately 1630 hrs, the Antelope Valley Community Emergency Response Team (AV CERT) was activated by detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Lancaster Station (LASD Lancaster) to assist in the search of a critical missing child.

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Within an hour of activation, AV CERT members Tim Chalfant, Wanda Deal, Terry Dean, Derrick Green, Mark Hagan, Larry Lewis, and Bridget Orr arrived on scene at the LASD Lancaster incident command post. AV CERT members were assigned to door-to-door canvass teams and later to systematic grid search teams.

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During the grid search, AV CERT methodically searched from the critical missing child’s last known location point and expanded the search areas to two miles in each direction. At approximately 1815 hrs, a first responder search team reported they located the child found unharmed at a business about three miles from the child’s last known location point.

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AV CERT appreciates the swift response of our volunteers and quick organization of AV CERT resources deployed to assist LASD Lancaster with the successful search and finding of the critical missing child. With the potential of exposure to severe environmental swings in the Antelope Valley, such as high/low temperature extremes and large areas of undeveloped and uninhabited desert surrounding our communities, it is crucial that critical missing persons be located quickly and safely.

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It was an honor and a pleasure to partner with LASD Lancaster and assist the deputies with this important effort. We also appreciate the time and talents of our local deputies and community members that responded to the call. We are thankful for the opportunity to serve our community! We stand ready to answer the next call to serve.

CONGRATULATIONS!

These are the community members of the AV CERT Basic Training class in Sun Village, CA (February 2020).  These community members are now AV CERT Level 1 volunteers.  They trained to serve the disaster preparedness needs of the community while increasing the overall level of disaster readiness of the Antelope Valley.

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Welcome to AV CERT, Sun Village!