Administrative and Mutual Aid Regions Map The Governor's Office
of Emergency Services, much like the state it serves, has a rich
and storied past. Since 1917, State level emergency
organizations have existed in California. But disasters, most
notably the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, had a major impact on
the state long before then. Because of the large number of
natural and human-caused disasters, California from its earliest
days was moved into its present role as a leader in disaster
preparedness, response and recovery. The original impetus for
disaster preparation, however, was planning for war.
California's legislative bodies learned from those wartime
experiences to build OES into an agency now recognized worldwide
for its natural and man-made disaster preparedness and response
role. Since 1945, the state Legislature has given a single
agency the responsibility for planning and preparing for war-
caused emergencies, natural disasters and civil disturbances. It
has recognized that the problems created by