LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff's Office still has NOAA weather radios available to Valley fire area residents.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office/County Office of Emergency Services received grant funding from the State Farm Insurance Co. to purchase approximately 333 of the Midland WR120 desktop weather alert radios, as Lake County News has reported.

In addition, the agency purchased some visual alert-strobe lights to give out with radios for those residents who have hearing difficulties, officials said.

On Thursday, the sheriff's office held a giveaway of the radios at the Middletown Library.

Undersheriff Chris Macedo said approximately 220 of the 333 NOAA weather radios were given out at that time.

Macedo said the following criteria was used to establish to determine who would be eligible for the aforementioned equipment:

– Those residents who currently were residing in the footprint of the Valley fire;
– Residents were required to provide proof of residency by showing either a valid California Driver’s License or California Identification Card that listed the physical address; or
– Utility bill such as a water, phone cable or energy that has the service (home) address listed
post office box addresses were insufficient and were not be accepted as proof of residency.

Since there are still approximately 113 of the radios left, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office/County Office of Emergency Services will schedule additional dates and times until all of the radios are issued, Macedo said.

Macedo said that once all of the radios are given away, the sheriff’s office will have exhausted all of the funds they received from State Farm Insurance and no more radios will be available.

If homeowners or residents are interested in more information about the NOAA weather radios, they are urged to visit http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/info/nwrrcvr.html#buy .