Cascade Canyon Firewise Evacuation Upd ate #4

May 2023

Evacuation Time

It's time...

You’ve done your planning and preparation for wildfire season. You know what to do when there is a Red Flag Warning. In this email we address what to do when an Evacuation Warning is issued. That means there is a wildfire headed toward Cascade Canyon NOW. The wildfire could change direction and go elsewhere, but it might not. What do you do now?

Make sure everyone in your household, including kids, visitors, and tenants, knows what is happening. Follow your checklist and your plan quickly. Stay CALM. Load your car with everything you planned to take. You can leave right away and wait in a safe area away from the fire. Or you can wait at home until you receive an Evacuation Order and then leave with more chaos. Before you drive away, make sure everyone, especially kids and pets, who should be in the car, is in the car.

Evacuation Warnings are issued by AlertMarin. Warning means prepare to go and an order means leave immediately.

Read a success story.

Leave Early!

Consider traffic congestion in your decision and that over 500 households in Cascade Canyon will be evacuating on one two-lane road with on-coming traffic (fire engines, people coming to get loved ones, etc.). One further complication: fire produces smoke which can block your vision and make panic more likely - in others if not in you.

More things that you can do to help firefighters protect lives and property:

Leave your front door unlocked so they don’t have to break it to enter
Make sure any wooden gates attached to your house are propped open
Put the Evacuated tag where it can be seen from the street

We had planned for this Evacuation Practice to start at 10:00 AM. AlertMarin just notified us that it will send out a FAKE Evacuation Order to Cascade Canyon at 11:15 AM. (You can do an evacuation practice whenever you want and as many times as you want.). The purpose of this Evacuation Practice is for you to see how many minutes it takes you to evacuate your home - from start to driving away. Take note of the time you first get the mock Evacuation Order or whenever you start. When you drive away, note the time again. Previous evacuation times from Cascade Canyon ranged from 12 minutes to over 20 minutes.

Remember:

Review your checklist before driving off. If you have forgotten something, you might decide to go anyway, but at least you have the choice at the time.
Stay calm. Don’t panic or meltdown - until you are safe. Panic can cause accidents and blocked roads.

Other Items:

Ember Stomp: You will learn more in a few hours at Ember Stomp than we can cover in a year of newsletters. May 20, 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM, at County Fair Grounds near the Civic Center.

Unwanted Vegetation: Besides pulling French and Scotch Broom while the ground is still damp, bull thistle is in bloom and should be weed-whacked ASAP before the seeds mature. If not, next year there will be many times more. Their flowers may be pretty, but their thorns are very sharp.

Fairfax Parade: Our Firewise group will have a contingent in the Fairfax Parade on June 10 @ 10 AM sharp. All of you are welcome to join in, including kids, who tend to be the most enthusiastic parades. (Kids need an adult with them.) We walk up Broadway and Bolinas from the Good Earth parking lot to Town Hall. Jack Hunt has a 1950 Hudson convertible to lead our contingent. Email to get connected!

Free Chipper Days: If you plan to have branches, small trees, and bushes cleared around your house, sign up for one of the free Chipper Days. Otherwise, you have to pay for the chipping and dumping by a private contractor.