By Dianne Jacob

Ready for wildfire?: Many of the biggest and deadliest firestorms in San Diego County history have happened this time of year.

When disaster strikes again, will you be ready?

Some critical reminders – be sure to sign up for reverse 9-1-1 alerts, put together a family emergency preparedness plan and check out the county’s Know Your Hazards map to learn about the risks where you live.

Details on all these and more can be found at readysandiego.org.

Senior housing: I was so grateful and pleased to take part in a recent ribbon-cutting in Ramona for the new Schmale Family Senior Residence, a housing complex that serves one of our most vulnerable populations – low-income seniors.

Thanks to the non-profit Serving Seniors, Ramona leaders and others for teaming up with the county on this project. It’s part of a broader county effort to boost the stock of affordable housing.

Seniors are the fastest-growing segment of our population — and many face huge challenges. Medical. Social. Financial. We must do all we can to help them and their families.

Keeping our kids safe: The San Diego County Office of Education, working with county emergency preparedness officials, recently rolled out additional measures to boost campus safety come the next big wildfire.

The School Protection and Evacuation Plan gives us a clear road map to safer campuses.

This is Wildfire Country and we all need to be as prepared as possible – at home, at work and at school. The plan is another big step in those efforts.

— Dianne Jacob is chair of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors and represents District 2. For more District 2 news, visit diannejacob.com or follow her on Facebook and Twitter. For assistance with a county issue, call 619-531-5522 or email [email protected].