Imagine a vehicle fire that starts around Muddy Hollow on Limantour Road. It’s spread by onshore winds into a canyon, and from there climbs the Inverness Ridge and closes in on Paradise Ranch Estates, a community of nearly 150 homes accessed by steep and narrow roads that funnel into a single exit.
It’s a scenario that could spur panic, but last week dozens of residents—51 people, 33 cars and two dogs—practiced staying calm under those (imaginary) circumstances, nabbing go-bags and snaking their way down Drakes View Drive and on to the parking lot at the Bear Valley Visitor Center. It was the neighborhood’s first fire evacuation drill, led by the Inverness Ridge Association in the wake of California’s years-long drought and increasingly worrisome wildfires.
“Participation from the community and the pre-preparation before an actual emergency is essential to saving lives” of residents and first responders, said Ben Ghisletta, a senior fire captain at the Point Reyes fire station.
Jennifer Howard, the vice president of the Inverness Ridge Association who had the idea for the drill, got involved in fire issues after joining a committee working with the fire department on evacuation route clearing. In learning about home hardening and personal preparedness, Ms. Howard, who also serves on the citizen’s oversight committee of the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority, began to think that more could be done for evacuation planning.
The county divides residential areas into evacuation zones; Inverness and Point Reyes Station comprise six such zones, and this was the first drill in that area, said Lynn Axelrod, the coordinator for the Point Reyes Disaster Council. Nicasio conducted a drill several years ago, Ms. Axelrod noted, and Bolinas will hold its third drill in August, said Steve Marcotte, the assistant fire chief of the Bolinas Fire Protection District. Muir Beach has one planned for June.
Ms. Howard, who is a cellist, said she knew the importance of practice: “I’m a musician, and I know that when you practice something, that prepares you for performance,” she said. Practice drills can also spur important conversations about the contents of go-bags, family member duties (who will get the dog, who will tag the home as evacuated), and planning around items that can’t be taken in a fast-moving emergency (for instance, digitizing important documents).
The drill came together quickly. Ms. Howard said she had the idea in December or January and contacted Capt. Ghisletta in late February. The fire department wanted to conduct it before the end of May, when actual fires start to require resources. The department coordinated with other agencies—the sheriff’s office, the park service and California Highway Patrol—and decided on the date, time and meeting point. Residents were given an hour-long window for when the alert might come—through AlertMarin along with a hi-lo signal broadcast from three sheriff’s cruisers—but not the exact time.
Despite the relatively short notice, “The event was very successful,” Capt. Ghisletta said, adding that it “validated how we would approach an actual emergency.” He did note that double-paned windows and home insulation made it difficult for some to hear the hi-lo signal, which underscores the need to be on heightened alert on red flag days.
Ms. Howard said the exercise instilled trust in the agencies involved. “I will have no question when they tell me what to do,” she said.
She attributed the success of the event to a variety of factors. Marin County Fire and Mr. Ghisletta were enthusiastic about the idea. The community was already well-organized through the association, and that cohesion facilitated outreach, which was largely done through email but also through a Zoom meeting and additional one-on-one contact by phone and email. In the future, she said, it would be great to do even more outreach, particularly to those who are less mobile.
If another drill were to be held, Mr. Ghisletta said some areas for change include a longer planning window to increase participation and a broader potential time in which the alert might go out. “We want them to have to react as though it’s real life,” he said.
Strong turnout also takes a bit of luck sometimes, as Mr. Marcotte learned. In the first drill that Bolinas ran in 2018, which focused on the Big Mesa, about 200 people participated, or roughly a quarter of residents. But in the next year’s drill, for the Little Mesa, turnout was much lower; as it happened, the day was a major surf day with gorgeous weather. The town was flooded with tourists and residents didn’t want to give up their parking spaces.
Sign up for AlertMarin, which provides specific instructions through text, phone or email in life-threatening circumstances, at www.marinsheriff.org/services/emergency-services/alert-marin.