CONDITION GREEN
During this time, as part of our training, we have a weekly net and request all members to serve as the Net Control Operator so that the members can insure that their equipment is in good working order when needed in an emergency and so that they learn proper NCO protocol when they are called upon to take control of an emergency net.
Since Monterey County is heavily in agriculture, GREEN means "GROWTH" and when we have CONDITON GREEN that is a time for training and growth of our skills and capabilities.
GREEN is a time for you to check your GO-KITS and make sure your generators will start when needed and that batteries are fully charged. Think of GREEN as a time of PREPERATION.
CONDITION YELLOW
Condition yellow means that ARES has NOT been activated but an emergency situation exists that requires us to closely monitor the situation in case we are activated. The first thing to do when the status is changed to YELLOW is to check your radio equipment to make sure batteries are fully charged and radios programmed to the correct frequencies. During the YELLOW status you should get any necessary equipment loaded into your vehicle and be ready to go.
MONITOR YOUR ARES WEBSITE, EMAIL, SOCIAL MEDIA, etc closely during a YELLOW status to be sure you are kept updated with the latest status.
CONDITION RED
Under CONDITION RED Monterey County ARES has been ACTIVATED
Information will be posted as to where to report and what to expect.
During condition green and condition yellow if we have taken appropriate steps to prepare for an emergency we will now be called upon to put that training and preperation into use. Some of the BEST training comes during a CONDITON RED situation because it is then that we are pressed into service and expected to be at our best.
When a CONDITION RED is activated the ARES staff of the Salinas EOC are expected to report to the EOC for a briefing. If at that time it looks like it will be an alert lasting more than 24 hours the staff will then be assigned hours to be at the EOC for each individual.