To: Board of Supervisors, County of Sonoma
Department or Agency Name(s): Emergency Management
Staff Name and Phone Number: Jeffrey DuVall, CEM / 707-565-1152
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Sonoma County Operational Area Emergency Operations Plan Update
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Adopt a Resolution approving the Sonoma County Operational Area Emergency Operations Plan
end
Executive Summary:
The Sonoma County Operational Area Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) facilitates coordination between agencies and jurisdictions within Sonoma County while ensuring the protection of life, property, and the environment in the event of a major emergency incident or disaster. The EOP outlines the specific actions that the County and the Operational Area will carry out when an emergency exceeds, or has the potential to exceed, the capacity of a single agency or jurisdiction to respond. The EOP establishes the organizational framework and outlines the steps needed to safeguard the entire community.
The EOP was last updated in 2022 and adopted by the Board on March 22, 2022. It is now at the end of its 3-year review cycle and has been updated for Board consideration and approval. The Emergency Council <https://sonomacounty.gov/administrative-support-and-fiscal-services/emergency-management/organization/committees-and-councils/emergency-council> adopted this version on November 12, 2025.
Discussion:
The County/Operational Area Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) is a high-level guidance document that creates the structures and frameworks necessary to plan for, respond to, and recover from all hazards and incidents that may threaten the County. The EOP was last updated in 2022 and adopted by the Board on March 22, 2022, and is now at the end of its 3-year cycle. The updated version of the EOP builds on the concepts outlined in the 2022 version and aligns the Plan with updated FEMA terminology and planning guidance. The revision of the plan for 2025 made the following changes:
1. Operationalized the plan: Including more detailed information on the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), EOC activation triggers, activation levels, and the key concepts and frameworks that guide County emergency operations.
2. Updated language for clarity and conciseness: Removed emergency management jargon and terminology and replace this with plain language to create a more accessible and easier-to-understand document where allowed.
3. Revised and reduced length to focus on the most critical information: Creates a plan that is easy to navigate and find necessary information quickly, while still capturing the essential pieces of information necessary to form a strong framework for the emergency management program.
4. Added more detail to the process describing Sonoma County’s internal emergency management process.
5. Simplified Emergency Proclamation definitions from local to federal levels.
6. Reorganized and renumbered Sections to make it easier to navigate and flow more logically.
7. Expanded the response partners section to include specific call-outs for key partners including Non-Profits/Community Based Organizations (CBOs), Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs), and Private Businesses and Organizations.
8. Added a section on the Emergency Council and its subcommittees.
9. Reworked look and feel of the document with more relevant and updated graphics.
The plan has gone through a significant graphics revision with a new vendor to better highlight important callouts and key pieces of information. It incorporates new pictures and graphics to give the plan a more “Sonoma County” focus and feel, as well as better accessibility and comprehension.
The Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) is a “base plan”, providing high-level guidance and an overarching framework for how the County and Operational Area prepare for, respond to, and recover from any emergency incident. Planning for specific functions, such as mass care, or specific hazards, such as flooding, is done in incident and or specific functional annexes developed under the guidance laid out in the EOP.
The EOP aligns with current California Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS) and National Incident Management System (NIMS) standards and details the fundamental concepts and strategies to be utilized during an emergency response. The EOP outlines specific actions and responsibilities designated to County departments and agencies during emergency incidents to create a coordinated, organized, and effective response and recovery effort.
The Emergency Operations Plan is composed of eight sections:
1. Overview: A summary of the Plan’s purpose, scope, and applicability. Contains a review of Sonoma County demographics, transportation networks, and a hazard analysis reviewing different threats to the area.
2. Concept of Operations: An overview of the national and state systems and processes that guide response efforts, Sonoma County processes, and the emergency proclamation process.
3. Organization and Assignment of Responsibilities: Discusses the different coordinating structures in place, the Emergency Operations Center and its sections, standard operating procedures, and the assignment of responsibilities for County departments and agencies.
4. Direction, Control, and Coordination: Highlights key response partners and organizations, the Emergency Council and subcommittees, and the Incident Command System (ICS), SEMS, and NIMS tie-ins to the EOP.
5. Information Collection, Analysis, and Dissemination: Section focused on emergency alerts and warnings, the role of public information in emergencies, sharing of information with Operational Area partners, and communication efforts.
6. Mutual Aid: Describes the processes in place for requesting and sending mutual aid from local, state, and national partners.
7. Plan Development and Maintenance: Discusses the review cycle for the plan and public meeting process for stakeholder input.
8. Authorities and References, Acronyms, Glossary: Details the federal, state, and local documents used to guide plan writing, spells out acronyms used, and lists key terms and words used in the document.
Plan Review Process
The Emergency Operations Plan went through a series of reviews. First, it was reviewed internally at DEM. Then, it was shared with the public, operational area partners, community partners, and the Sonoma County Operational Area Emergency Council. The County conducted a series of seven in-person and virtual feedback sessions with one in each Supervisorial District. Meeting materials were made available in both English and Spanish. Additionally, a meeting was held specifically for the Community Organizations Active in Disasters (COAD) and other Community Based Organizations (CBO)s to provide their input.
EOP Community meetings held for the 2025 update include:
1. District 1: August 7, 2025; East County Services Center, Sonoma
2. District 2: August 27, 2025; Petaluma Community Center, Petaluma
3. District 3: August 14, 2025; The Child Parent Institute, Santa Rosa
4. District 4: August 12, 2025; Nuestra Comunidad, Windsor
5. District 5: August 6, 2025; West County Services Center, Guerneville
6. COAD/CBOs : August 8, 2025; Sonoma County Office of Equity, Santa Rosa
7. Virtual (public and CBOs): August 13, 2025, via Zoom
Following these meetings, all community feedback was captured and reviewed. Feedback was incorporated into the plan where applicable, and an updated version of the plan was sent to the Operational Area partner email list, consisting of over 250 contacts from partners agencies and organizations, including the nine cities and towns. After a 3-week review period, comments were collected and incorporated into the final version of the plan. The Emergency Council adopted this final version on November 12, 2025.
The 2025 Emergency Operations Plan has been translated into Spanish and will be made available to the public on the DEM website, along with all current annexes already drafted for the plan. The plan will go to all County departments identified in the plan concurrence section for their signature, acknowledging they have had a chance to review, and understand their designated roles and responsibilities in emergency situations.
Strategic Plan:
N/A
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
Yes
An Equity Analysis was conducted for this item and the results are available in Attachment #4 (English) and Attachment #5 (Spanish).
Prior Board Actions:
03/22/2022: Adopt a Resolution approving the Sonoma County Operational Area Emergency Operations Plan.
Fiscal Summary
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
None.
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
None.
Attachments:
1. Resolution
2. Sonoma County Operational Area Emergency Operations Plan
3. Plan de Operaciones de Emergencias para el Área Operativa del condado de Sonoma
4. Racial Equity Analysis
5. Análisis de Equidad Racial
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None.