The Sheriff is the Director of Disaster Services for the county. The County’s disaster ordinance has granted the Sheriff a number of powers and duties including the following:

1. Request the board of supervisors to proclaim the existence or threatened existence of a local emergency if the board of supervisors is in session, or to issue such proclamation if the board of supervisors is not in sessions. Whenever a local emergency is proclaimed by the director, the board of supervisors shall take action to ratify the proclamation within seven days thereafter or the proclamation shall have no further force or effect;
2. Request the chairman of the board of supervisors, or his next in succession, to assemble the board of supervisors at least each seven days, in accordance with the provisions of Government Code, Section 8630, the California Emergency Services Act, for the purpose of reviewing the need for continuing the "local emergency," requesting the board terminate the "local emergency" at the earliest possible date conditions warrant;

An Emergency Operations Center is a pre-designated facility established by an agency or jurisdiction to coordinate the overall agency or jurisdictional response and support to an emergency. The County’s EOC is activated when the field level responders need additional support.

As Director and Operational Area Coordinator, the Sheriff may be required to activate the EOC under the following conditions: 

• A local government has activated its EOC and requests activation of the operational area EOC to support their emergency operations.
• Two or more cities within the operational area have proclaimed a local emergency.
• The County and/or cities within the county have requested a governor’s proclamation of a State of Emergency.
• The operational area is requesting, or has received, resources from outside its boundaries. This does not include resources used in day-to-day operations, which are obtained through existing mutual aid agreements.