Upcoming CERT Activities

Great California ShakeOut: Thursday, October 15, 2026

Just two days before our Highlands CERT Emergency Drill, join millions of Californians in the Great California ShakeOut on Thursday, October 15th at 10:15am — a statewide earthquake drill where participants practice Drop, Cover, and Hold On for one minute, wherever they are. Registration is not required but you can add your family, workplace or organization to the list of state-wide participants at shakeout.org/california/register.

Last year, the Highlands Recreation Center invited our CERT Team to observe and critique their Emergency Drill held as part of last year's Great Shakeout. We have been invited to provide this service again this year. If you are available to participate on Thursday, October 15 from 10:00am to 12:00noon, contact us at highlandscert.training@gmail.com or text (650) 455-1319.

Highlands CERT Emergency Drill: Saturday, October 17, 2026

This year, we have been focusing on Alternate Communications Systems (ACS). One huge challenge is being able to communicate when our primary communications systems (mobile phone and internet) are unavailable in the aftermath of a major disaster. Because of our hilly terrain, radio coverage can be tricky.

So, we have been working on establishing a network of emergency radio communications in each of the 19 HCA areas. We are working on recruiting 4 to 5 residents in each HCA area to help gather this information and forward it to their HCA Area Representative who will then compile it and transmit it to the CERT Incident Command Post. If you would like to serve as one of these assistants, let us know!

Every year, Highlands CERT brings the neighborhood together for our biggest event of the year — the community-wide Highlands CERT Emergency Drill. This year's focus is emergency radio communications: practicing how we can share information across the Highlands when phones, cell service, and internet go down after a major disaster.

You don't need to be CERT-trained or have any radio experience — we will teach you what you need to know and … it’s not rocket science.

Can't make the morning exercise? No problem — you don't need to participate in the drill to join us for the Community BBQ Potluck at 12:30pm. Come meet your neighbors, your Area Representative, and Highlands CERT members, and learn how our neighborhood emergency communications system works.

Exercise:10:00am – 12:00pm (from home)

BBQ Potluck:12:00 – 2:00pm

Location:Crystal Springs United Methodist Church (CSUMC)

2145 Bunker Hill Dr, San Mateo, CA 94402

Who: All Highlands residents - CERT members or not

Register in advance: https://forms.gle/Sn62QGyLMsME86bq9

Walk-ins welcome!

CERT Basic Training, January-February 2027

When disaster strikes — a major earthquake, wildfire, or even a home emergency like a kitchen fire or a medical crisis — will you know what to do? Highlands CERT's Winter 2027 Basic Training is a federally standardized course developed by FEMA and taught by CalFire professionals alongside our own trained community volunteers. Across nine units, you'll learn household disaster preparedness, how CERT teams organize and deploy, disaster medical operations like controlling bleeding and performing triage, disaster psychology, fire suppression and utility shut-off, light search and rescue, and terrorism awareness — all reinforced with hands-on skills practice in realistic disaster scenarios.

Trained CERT members become force multipliers for professional responders who may be overwhelmed or delayed after a major disaster, and studies show that neighborhoods with CERT-trained residents recover faster and more effectively. Whether you're brand new to CERT or just want to sharpen skills you learned before, this is your chance to build the confidence to protect your own household and help your neighbors when it matters most. The course is free and open to all Highlands residents ages 18 and older — space is limited, so don't wait to sign up.

Highlands CERT will be offering a new CERT Basic Training course in early 2027! Please share this opportunity with your friends, family, and neighbors so they can join.

Sessions will be held on Saturdays from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM, concluding with a hands-on Skills Day on February 27th. The location has not yet been finalized, but will likely be either the Training Room at Fire Station 17 or the Multi-Purpose Room at the Highlands Recreation Center.

Registration is open now! If you have friends, neighbors, or family members who would like to learn the basics of emergency preparedness, encourage them to sign up too!

Or maybe it's been a while since you took the Basic Training class yourself. Want a refresher? You don't need to sign up for the whole course — just let us know that you'd like to sit in on one or two of the classes you feel a little rusty on. Send us an email at highlandscert.training@gmail.com. It's said that the best way to be sure you know something is to teach it to someone else. Sign up to be an assistant instructor. You can help with in-class exercises and hands-on demonstrations.