VOTMA’s release of the now completed Fire Evacuation Time Study by KLD Associates is expected soon. The accompanying photo shows the cars backed up during the 2017 fires. The history and purpose of the study are explained on VOTMA’s website this way:
On March 1, 2024, the Valley of the Moon Alliance (VOTMA) entered into an agreement with KLD Associates to conduct an independent evacuation time estimate (ETE) study for much of Sonoma Valley, specifically the area bounded to the north by Oakmont and to the south by the northern boundary of Sonoma. The study area will include Oakmont, Kenwood, Glen Ellen, Eldridge, Fetters Hot Springs-Agua Caliente, Boyes Hot Springs, El Verano, and all unincorporated inhabited areas in between these communities and the mountain ranges to the east and west. In addition, the study will consider a “shadow region” surrounding the valley. A shadow region is an area outside the declared evacuation area wherein people may voluntarily evacuate, thus potentially delaying egress of those people in the declared evacuation area. Given the widespread impact of wildfires in recent years, it is highly likely that communities neighboring the valley will also choose to evacuate.
A condensed version of KLD’s proposal to conduct the ETE study is available on the FILES page of this website.
Along with ETE studies conducted for numerous cities including Berkeley, Laguna Beach, Ashland (OR), and the Counties of Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz, KLD Associates also recently completed an evacuation study for Oakmont Village. The Oakmont Village study report is available on the FILES page of this website.
With a focus on wildfires, the ETE study will determine how long it could take to evacuate the valley under various circumstances and will explore the sensitivity of ETE to numerous factors including, but not limited to, the following:
- the number of evacuating vehicles per household
- police performing traffic control at critical intersections
- the impact of development and resulting increased population
- the mobilization time or time to prepare to evacuate, based in part on a demographic survey of residents
With respect to assessing the impact of development and resulting increased population (residents and visitors), the study, which is anticipated to take six months and cost approximately $85,000, will consider the Sonoma Developmental Center, Hanna Center, Elnoka and other proposed and foreseeable developments in the study area.
First and foremost, the ETE study is about public safety. The study seeks to understand the magnitude of the wildfire evacuation problems valley residents and visitors will face should these large-scale developments proceed as outlined in project applications. The study does not seek to solve these problems. However, data from the ETE will be widely shared, and it is our hope that County officials and fire professionals will use it to enhance public safety by updating evacuation protocols and plans as well as looking to the study for guidance regarding local development.
Be First to Comment