{"id":1840,"date":"2021-07-21T15:26:31","date_gmt":"2021-07-21T22:26:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.venturacounty.gov\/?p=1840"},"modified":"2022-10-10T11:30:46","modified_gmt":"2022-10-10T18:30:46","slug":"wildfire-smoke-text-alert-system-for-farmworkers-launched-in-ventura-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.venturacounty.gov\/en\/wildfire-smoke-text-alert-system-for-farmworkers-launched-in-ventura-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Wildfire Smoke Text Alert System for Farmworkers Launched in Ventura County"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"1840\" class=\"elementor elementor-1840\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-9034e2d elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"9034e2d\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;jet_parallax_layout_list&quot;:[]}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-9d3439b\" data-id=\"9d3439b\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-86f55d1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"86f55d1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<iframe title=\"Launch of the Wildfire Smoke Text Alert System in Ventura County\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/536970926?title=0\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe>\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/536970926\">Launch of the Wildfire Smoke Text Alert System in Ventura County<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/user123461249\" aria-label=\"County of Ventura on Vimeo\">County of Ventura<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\">Vimeo<\/a>.\n\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><strong>Download article:<\/strong> <a title=\"Press Release - English\" href=\"https:\/\/vcportal.ventura.org\/CEO\/VCNC\/press_releases\/2021-07-21_vncn_pr_wildfire-smoke-text-alert-system.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">English<\/a> | <a title=\"Press Release - Spanish\" href=\"https:\/\/vcportal.ventura.org\/CEO\/VCNC\/press_releases\/2021-07-21_vncn_pr_wildfire-smoke-text-alert-system_sp.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">En espa\u00f1ol<\/a><\/p>\nVentura, CA &#8211; With wildfire season upon us, it is crucial to ensure Ventura County\u2019s farmworkers are well informed and protected from the health impacts of wildfire smoke. The Air Pollution Control District (APCD) has partnered with the County of Ventura\u2019s County Executive Office, the Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner\u2019s Office, and the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE), a non-profit organization, to develop a first-of-its-kind text alert system that will alert farmworkers by region when wildfire smoke reaches dangerous levels.\n\n\u201cOver 40,000 farmworkers in Ventura County can now benefit from timely information to help protect themselves at their workplaces during wildfire events. Ventura County is committed to leading the way in protecting farmworkers and working towards a more resilient and healthy community,\u201d said County Supervisor and Air Pollution Control District Board member Carmen Ramirez.\n\nThe text alert system will send air quality notifications to farmworkers and field supervisors in real-time when the Air Quality Index (AQI) reaches 151 (unhealthy) , the level where existing Cal\/OSHA regulations require employers to provide N95 respirator masks to outdoor workers for voluntary use. The system will also send alerts when the AQI exceeds 500 (hazardous), the level where outdoor workers are required to wear N95 masks at all times. The farmworker text alert system is being provided at no cost to the subscriber and phone provider charges may apply. The subscriber will also be able to choose between English or Spanish text notifications.\n\n\u201cWe are grateful for the community partnerships that have made it possible to launch this alert system to protect the health and safety of farmworkers and strengthen our community\u2019s preparedness for wildfire events,\u201d said County Executive Officer Mike Powers.\n\nFarmworkers, including employers and field supervisors, can sign up to receive text alerts by texting SMOKE for alerts in English or HUMO for alerts in Spanish to 855-522-0034.\n\n\u201cThis groundbreaking smoke alert system was developed exclusively for our farmworkers. It overcomes language and technology barriers and allows us to communicate vital air quality information during wildfires. The Air Pollution Control District is committed to innovative strategies to keep our community informed and healthy,\u201d said Dr. Laki Tisopulos, APCD Director.\n\n\u201cThe agricultural industry is a cornerstone of the Ventura County economy and adds a lot to our quality of life. We have continued to engage with growers on the Farmworker Wildfire Smoke Protection Act, AB73 to protect the health and safety of farmworkers during wildfire events and this new alert system is a great new tool to support that effort,\u201d said Ed Williams, Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner.\n\nThe farmworker text message alert system will be launched in partnership with the Ventura County Farmworker Resource Program, the Mixteco Ind\u00edgena Community Organizing Project (MICOP), and other farmworker advocates and growers to help raise awareness and increase farmworker participation in the text alert system. These collaborative partnerships will provide a variety of communications and outreach methods to support the health and safety of the farmworker community.\n\n\u201cThis is a critical step forward in protecting the health and safety of Ventura County\u2019s essential farmworkers during severe wildfire events. This smoke alert system will empower farmworkers to know their safety needs and workplace rights in a major wildfire event,\u201d said Lucas Zucker, CAUSE Policy and Communications Director.\n\nFor more information about the Farmworker Wildfire Smoke Text Alert System, visit the APCD website at <a title=\"VCAPCD website\" href=\"http:\/\/www.vcapcd.org\/humo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">www.vcapcd.org\/humo<\/a> or <a title=\"VCAPCD website\" href=\"http:\/\/www.vcapcd.org\/smoke\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">www.vcapcd.org\/smoke<\/a>.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Launch of the Wildfire Smoke Text Alert System in Ventura County from County of Ventura on Vimeo. Download article: English | En espa\u00f1ol Ventura, CA &#8211; With wildfire season upon [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1754,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.venturacounty.gov\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.venturacounty.gov\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.venturacounty.gov\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.venturacounty.gov\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.venturacounty.gov\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1840"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/news.venturacounty.gov\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1840\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.venturacounty.gov\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.venturacounty.gov\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.venturacounty.gov\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.venturacounty.gov\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}