There are many great resources available to you. Mark Brown, Executives Officer of the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority narrates an informational video called Wildfire Evacuation: Make it Downhill Alive. Another video offers an overview of how to plan for an evacuation for yourself, family, and pets. There are many examples and templates to help you create an evacuation check-list.
Make sure you develop a plan today. It is unlikely that public safety personnel will need to be responding to the incident and will not have capacity to help individuals evacuate. Work with your neighbors, friends, family and professional care givers to develop your plan. If you know you will need extra help evacuating, consider … Continued
Evacuations may be phased to limit the amount of traffic and cars on the road. Take only one car to help reduce traffic. It is possible there will be traffic and confusion during an evacuation. Continue to follow the rules of the road unless otherwise directed by public safety personnel. Staying in your car on pavement, which … Continued
That’s ok- being on a noncombustible road with well maintained vegetation is a pretty safe, even if scary, place to be during a wildfire. In some cases you may be directed to an area of refuge, like a parking lot, sports field, or other area unlikely to experience high fire intensity.
If you are told to evacuate, or feel unsafe where you are, calmly move away from danger. Follow the direction of any public safety personnel and be alert of responding units. In general, during a wildfire you will want to go downhill and away from dense vegetation and combustible structures, including homes. This likely means … Continued
Make sure you are opted into our County Emergency Alerts at AlertMarin.org. If you set your phone to Do Not Disturb or silence your ring tone, make sure you create a bypass for Alert Marin messages. In addition to Alert Marin, have a redundancy, such as a friend or neighbor that will check on you, a NOAA Weather … Continued
CERT members perform essential emergency support functions during disasters, including light search and rescue, basic medical treatment, fire suppression with extinguishers, and damage assessment. They also help establish communication networks, organize spontaneous volunteers, and provide critical information to professional responders. When not responding to emergencies, CERT members stay active through regular training sessions, community outreach, … Continued
The CERT Basic Training is a comprehensive 20-hour course that combines classroom instruction with hands-on exercises. Training concludes with a final disaster simulation drill where you’ll apply all the skills you’ve learned in a realistic emergency scenario. The course covers: Unit 1: Disaster Preparedness covers the types of disasters than can happen in Marin County and … Continued
The CERT concept was developed and implemented by the Los Angeles City Fire Department in 1985. The Whittier Narrows earthquake in 1987 underscored the area-wide threat of a major disaster in California. Further, it confirmed the need for training civilians to meet their immediate needs. CERT became a national program in 1993. There are now … Continued
If extreme fire danger conditions threaten a portion of the electric system serving a community, it may be necessary to turn off electricity in the interest of public safety – a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS). Beginning with the 2019 wildfire season, PG&E announced expansion of their PSPS program to include all electric lines (distribution … Continued
