Security
Home Emergencies
Be Prepared for Home Emergencies
Home Emergency Sections
First Things
Signup for Smart911 and Reverse 911 (see Getting Started).
Make sure you have proper fire extinguishers (see Home Fire Risk) and know how to shutoff water and gas (see Water and Gas Leak sections).
The County recommends having 1 gallon of water per person per day for 7 days in the event of a disaster
Make sure you can communicate with family and get emergency notifications if there is a power outage. Consider getting a solar cell phone charger and an emergency radio (some have solar chargers).
Make sure flashlights are accessible and have good batteries.
Long Term Outages: Home solar panels will not provide power if there is a power loss. Review information below on alternatives for replacing gas and providing power during an outage.
Home Fire Risk
Fire alarms in your house are not connected to Cal Fire. If a fire occurs and your fire alarm goes off, you will need to call 911 unless you have contracted with an outside security alarm provider that provides this as a service.
Common locations for fires to start are the kitchen and garage/workshop. At a minimum, extinguishers should be in or adjacent to the kitchen and garage/workshop in your home.
See Fire Extinguisher Review to learn about selecting the type and size of fire extinguishers for your home.
See House Fire Fact Sheet - SLO County for additional information about preparing for and responding to home fires.
Water Leaks and Emergency Water Supplies
If water lines on your property are damaged you may have to turn off your water either inside your home or for your entire property. See Water Shutoff for more information.
Emergency Water: Monarch Dunes owns its own water company (Woodlands Mutual Water Company (WMWCo)).The WMWCo has potable water wells on property that should be capable of meeting the needs of Monarch Dunes for up to 5 days in the event of a regional power loss if landscape watering is turned off.
County disaster planning organizations recommends having 1 gallon of water per person per day for 7 days. Distilled water lasts much longer than non distilled water. You can purchase containers designed to store water for a long period of time. Store emergency water containers in an area not exposed to direct sunlight to minimize bacterial growth.
While we should have water for 5 days in the event of a water emergency it is good to fill containers and your bathtub if there is an emergency that could effect water supplies.
Gas Leaks and Emergency Gas Supplies
SoCal Gas supplies natural gas to Monarch Dunes.
Gas Leaks: If you think you have a gas leak you should know how to safely check for a leak and how to shut off your gas service. See Gas Shut-off for safety tips about dealing with a gas leak and shutting off your gas. For additional information see SoCalGas Safety Tips. If you must shut off your gas, do not attempt to turn it back on yourself.
Contact SoCal Gas at 1-800-427-2200 to reestablish service.
Excess Flow Valve (automatic gas shut off): Most people should be able to shut off gas using a gas shut-off tool reviewed in the Gas Shut-off pdf. If you will have difficulty shutting off your gas, you can have an Excess Flow Valve (EFV) installed that will automatically close and restrict the flow of natural gas in the event an underground pipe is damaged. SoCalGas can provide an estimate of the cost to install an EFV. See SoCalGas Excess Gas Flow Valve for information.
An EFV will not protect you from a gas leak in your home. Installing a gas shut off valve on your property requires a licensed installer. Once the valve is shut-off, SoCalGas can reset the valve. They will charge a fee if the shut-off valve is closed due to a non-earthquake occurrence.
Electric Power Outages and Backup Options
Virtually everything you use relies on electrical power to operate (refrigerators, lights, phones, garage door openers, medical assistive devices, computers, etc.). Stocking up on nonperishable food and supplies that do not require power can make dealing with long term outage much easier.
PG&E power outages periodically occur in Nipomo. Historically California has more power outages than any other state. See Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) for more information. You can check on the status of an outage at PG&E address lookup.
Your solar cells will not provide power for you home during a power outage. Your home requires regulated power. Power from your solar panels fluctuates (it is not regulated). PG&E collects this power and provides a credit. A backup power system can provide power during an electrical shutdown. The sections below review backup power alternatives.
Cell Phone Backup Power
A solar powered mobile phone charger is an inexpensive option that can help you stay in communication with family and allow you to receive updates during a power outage. Once charged many solar cell chargers will retain charge for several months or longer. Emergency radios with integrated solar cell chargers often have a mobile phone charging port and many have a hand crank that can charge the radio and your phone simultaneously. See Solar Phone Chargers (Amazon).
Home Backup Power Systems
Options include solar cell battery systems like Tesla Powerwalls or batteries from other companies, inverters that can be attached to your car's battery to provide power, fuel powered inverters, generators.
If you purchase an inverter make sure it has a pure sine wave output. Low cost inverters often provide a modified sine wave output. These are ok for light use like camping but are not good for home use. A modified sine wave power signal is noisier than a pure sign wave and may cause issued for systems with AC motors, fans to require more power and may even damage newer electronics. Inverters for home use should state that they can power appliances such as refrigerators.
Example: Powering Electronics and Appliances from Your Car with an Inverter
Inverters that interface with your car batteries convert DC to AC Power and are relatively inexpensive. They will only support items that can be powered through a 3-pronged plug so they can't power items like an oven or built-in microwave and cannot be connected to a circuit breaker panel or power a device without a standard plug.
While inverters used with your car are a low cost option they only provide a limited amount of power. Available power is governed by the inverter and the car’s ability to recharge the battery. A typical alternator (gas-powered vehicle) puts out about 48 Ah (amp hours) or about 5kW hours while idling. Consuming more than this over time can drain the battery. Check your vehicle. It may be different.
Gas powered cars will need to be running and outside due to carbon monoxide. Car Inverters usually come with cables to connect the inverter to the battery but these are short. You may need additional long, heavy duty cables if you don’t want to leave the inverter by the car. You will need a long extension cord(s).
See Video using a car to power home appliances.