The First District has been awarded a 2025 NACo Achievement Award for Civic Education and Public Information for its Bridge Fire communications outreach — a recognition the office shares with the County Administrative Office’s communications team.
The First District’s portion of the award specifically honors the Bridge Fire response after the blaze swept through Wrightwood in September 2024. The coverage included hundreds of social media posts and daily electronic newsletters providing the latest information, evacuation notices, and more for residents impacted by the fire.
The award underscores the County’s coordinated crisis communications during the Line and Bridge Wildfires. According to the abstract, “San Bernardino County activated its Emergency Operations Center, launched two dedicated wildfire resource webpages, and stood up a Joint Information System that issued more than 80 official evacuation notices and over 2,000 social media posts.
“County communicators collaborated to produce clear, consistent, and culturally and linguistically appropriate information across emergency notifications, website resource pages, social posts, videos, and proactive media engagement, ensuring residents and businesses could access critical guidance and support.” Since 1970, the NACo Achievement Awards have recognized outstanding county government programs across 18 categories; the full awards database can be viewed here.