CERT makes emergency preparedness fun

March 2026 Articles

By Yvette Urrea Moe, County of San Diego Communications Office

March 11, 2026 (San Diego) - Preparing for emergencies is serious, but it doesn’t have to be dull.

San Diego County Fire’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) is a volunteer group trained to help their neighbors during a disaster. Members also attend community events to share information about disaster preparedness.

On March 7, CERT hosted a Listos California Block Party in South County. About 100 people attended, most of them seniors or older adults, along with several families. Everyone learned simple steps they can take to be better prepared for an emergency.

“The Listos CA Block Party and Interactive Safety Fair was a success,” said Teresa Greenhalgh, San Diego County Fire’s CERT coordinator. “We partnered with AARP San Diego and have held a series of trainings and fairs for older adults, who have been identified as underserved in emergency and disaster preparedness.”

The March 7 event at the Bonita-Sunnyside Library included giveaways funded by a California CERT support grant. Participants won prizes by showing what they knew about preparedness through familiar games with a disaster-readiness twist. Activities included The Price of Preparedness, which highlights how affordable it can be to build a go-kit; Two Truths and a Lie on disaster readiness; an evacuation go-bag memory challenge; and a team scavenger hunt focused on finding safety items. Some games were offered in both English and Spanish.

Photo, right: The winner of the Price of Preparedness game.

Residents can learn more about disaster readiness at the County’s AlertSanDiego website. The site outlines four basic steps:

Create your own Personal Disaster Plan
Register your cell phones for emergency alerts
Make an evacuation go-kit and a shelter-in-place kit.
Review the types of disasters most likely to occur in San Diego County.

The event also featured informational booths from County Aging & Independence Services, the Sheriff’s Office, the Office of Emergency Services and the Bonita-Sunnyside Library. Community partners shared preparedness tips, safety resources and services. Those partners included AARP San Diego, 2-1-1 San Diego, the American Red Cross, the Fire Safe Council of San Diego County, the Bonita-Sunnyside Fire Protection District, U‑Pac San Diego and SDG&E Damage Prevention and Outreach.

Photo, left: a small team playing the Get-to-Know-Your-Neighbor scavenger hunt.

The Listos California Grants Program provided the block party kit and funding for prizes. Attendees also had the chance to learn about joining CERT and how volunteers can support their communities in emergencies. San Diego County Fire’s CERT program offers preparedness events, activities and training for all residents.

Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.