While it is difficult to ascertain the kind of wildfire event that may occur (and related weather conditions), certain events (due to their proximity to Town or nature) could result in an abbreviated evacuation warning. In addition, some events involve a variety of conditions, such as smoke, embers, poor driving, congestion, vehicular failure, loss of communications, and other variables that are impossible to adequately simulate in a drill.  Traffic may be backed up at certain intersections , regardless of the deployment of the Sheriff’s Office and other first responders.  Thus, the Town, the Wildfire Committee, the Emergency Preparedness Committee, WFPD, and others are working on a variety of initiatives (e.g., home hardening, improving communications, vegetation management on public and private property, etc.) to mitigate the negative conditions of an actual wildfire event.  Some of these initiatives have been completed, while others are currently in process.  All these initiatives are viewed as critical in mitigating, to the extent possible, loss of life and property.

It is critical that you and your family have a plan should an evacuation order be issued.  What to have packed in advance (your Go-Bag), how to care for pets, or where to meet if you are separated, are important planning elements to determine in advance.  By doing so, you can ensure that you know what do to when the times comes.

Certain weather conditions can greatly contribute to the cause and spread of wildfires. Red flag days denote low relative humidity, strong winds, dry fuels, the possibility of dry lightning strikes, or any combination of the above. Such days of weather which could result in extreme fire behavior are known days in advance, and residents should both exercise caution (such as adhering to the Town’s recent municipal code changes banning the use of certain mechanical equipment on red flag days), and be prepared for a potential wildfire.

To create your Wildfire Action Plan, please click here.

WPV-Ready* uses a hand acronym to consider when to leave – P.L.E.A.S.E. (Please Leave Early And Save Everyone).  

Please note that some emergencies may occur at an extremely fast rate, and emergency personnel may not have sufficient time to update relevant information in a timely manner.  If you feel that you should evacuate your home – don’t wait for WFPD, SMC Sheriff's Office, or Town Hall to inform you.  

If you think you should leave, do not wait –  Evacuate!

Recent experiences from the Caldor Fire suggest that leaving on your sprinklers or hoses after you have left may deplete the community water supply. Do not leave such systems on when you leave, unless they are connected to a well or other independent water storage system.

 

* WPV-Ready operates in the Woodside Fire Protection District, providing Emergency Preparedness information, education and resources, covering the towns of Woodside and Portola Valley, and un-incorporated areas of San Mateo County including Emerald Hills, Ladera, Los Trancos, Skyline, and Vista Verde. Their goal is to reach every individual and neighborhood in the district, and help them become prepared for emergencies like wildland fires and earthquakes.

Communications will vary depending on the type and severity of a natural disaster.  There is no one communication system that can be guaranteed to reach everyone during a disaster.  We urge you to employ multiple communication channels.  In the event of an evacuation, information about which zones are affected, available routes, hazards, and other critical items will be disseminated primarily through SMCAlert.   SMCAlert uses multiple systems (reverse 911, texting, email, etc.) to communicate emergency information.  As a secondary source, the Town AM radio (1680 AM) will be updated as frequently as possible.  If you have not signed up for SMCAlert, you can do so here.

Should an evacuation call be made in Portola Valley by our fire professionals, SMCAlert will be used to send out the information to landlines, cell phones/text and emails.  The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office will be deployed to manage traffic flow out of Portola Valley along the Town’s two primary evacuation routes of Alpine and Portola Roads. Sheriff Deputies and other law enforcement professionals will attempt to knock on every door in the community evacuated, and will also be located at other intersections to help with traffic flow. The SMCAlert message will contain specific information about the arterial road you should use to evacuate (Portola, Alpine and/or Arastradero Roads); and law enforcement professionals will block unusable routes.

The Town is using additional evacuation tools using the Zonehaven system that will provide specific route information that can be determined before an event.  As each wildfire event may be different, the SMCAlert will provide specifics on which primary routes are open.  Please review routes (and alternate routes) that you can take from your house to both Portola and Alpine Roads.  (Over the past two years these routes have been undergoing extensive vegetation management to help ensure that they remain open in the event of a wildfire).

As evacuations will be called by zone, everyone should familiarize themselves with their specific zone that can be accessed here. You should become familiar with alternative routes out of your neighborhood as well using the Zonehaven tool.

Wildfire Preparedness Committee's  report  that describes the Town’s understanding of evacuation issues and a description of the Evacuation Study authorized by the Town Council.

Salient points from the report and our continued understandings include:

 

• On a busy morning, 2000 cars/hour travel in and out of Town.
• Traffic on a single lane (for instance, NB Portola Road) could be upwards of 2000 cars/hour without traffic.
• Traffic engineers also believe that during an evacuation the same road is likely to accommodate 1000 cars/hour.
• In an evacuation, the Sheriff’s Office and mutual aid police departments would conduct traffic control at major intersections in Portola Valley; during the CZU fire, dozens of officers and deputies were in unincorporated San Mateo County providing such services.
• In a study in Ashland Oregon (one of the very few evacuation time studies that has been completed), researchers found that it took 195 minutes for all those who wished to evacuate to prepare to do so and leave their homes. This is important as when people leave affects the number of cars on the roads.
• Current thinking, including as informed by a resident’s own modeling efforts, conclude that a complete town evacuation would take 2-3 hours (with variation depending on when you left that could be less or more time) notwithstanding some significant event that blocked a route for an extended period of time.

As the report says, the best action should a wildfire occur near/in the community is to leave early.