Saratoga evacuation seminar helps residents prepare for emergencies

To help residents prepare for potential evacuations, Saratoga city officials wrangled public safety organizations and wildfire-focused nonprofits for an informational seminar on Feb. 25.

“Preparedness is a shared responsibility,” said Mayor Chuck Page, emphasizing that everyone needs to know what to do in case of an evacuation, whether they live in the hillsides or the flatlands.

The seminar was attended by around a hundred people. Lining the walls of Joan Pisani Community Center were resource tables headed by the Santa Clara County Office of Emergency Management and Fire Department, Cal Fire, California Highway Patrol, the state department of insurance, the county FireSafe Council, Saratoga Community Emergency Response Team, Halter Project, United Policyholders and Community Organized Relief Efforts.

Some residents said they were impressed by the range of knowledge these groups represented because it meant that they could find someone to answer their questions like a one-stop shop.

During the course of the night, the local government agencies shared their roles in evacuations. Every agency reassured residents that their goal was to protect life and property. The county and state fire departments, the county sheriff’s office, CHP and Saratoga officials stressed how they collaborate with each other to make sure emergency personnel can do their jobs and notify residents when evacuation is necessary.

There was also a panel led by several nonprofit organizations that support residents in preparing and dealing with emergency situations. Joel Laucher with United Policyholders shared that their nonprofit tries to help people understand the insurance market, especially as more people are dealing with issues of non-renewals and increasing premiums. Julie Atwood with Halter Project advised residents on how to take care of their pets in an emergency situation or evacuation. Kevin Marques tried to inspire residents to join Saratoga CERT, saying there is a lack of trained volunteers to help in the event of a major disaster, so it’s good for residents to have some first aid training.

The representatives from governmental agencies advised residents to be knowledgeable of multiple evacuation routes, have a bag ready to go with emergency equipment and have copies of important documents ready in case of an emergency. They emphasized the necessity of home hardening and defensible space and understanding the differences between different emergency evacuation warnings. They also plugged several apps that people can use to keep updated of any emergencies, like AlertSCC, Genasys, AlertCalifornia, Pulse Point and Watch Duty.

Jim Arena, a 62-year-old Saratoga resident, said the most useful thing he learned from the seminar was the Genasys app. He’s already made a go bag of food and clothes and his family’s photos and had downloaded a bunch of apps on his phone, but he was interested in Genasys because it gave specific information based on his location. He also praised the event for showing how all the different agencies work with each other.

“It’s just impressive to see all of the organizations coordinating with each other and thinking about how an average homeowner would try to integrate all the knowledge that they have,” Arena said.

Saratoga residents Michelle and Ed Farrell said they live up in the hills above the Village, a fire-prone area They said they’ve taken a lot of the advice from these seminars in the past, like cutting down trees and reducing low-lying foliage to create defensible space and having the Saratoga Fire Department conduct yearly inspections of their property. Michelle Farrell said she was glad to learn that it’s not a good idea to try to put out a nearby fire with water because it reduces the water supply in tanks. She added that she wished the seminars were more frequent, “so that maybe the people who didn’t make it today would come,,” but acknowledged it would be difficult to get all of the agency representatives in one room multiple times during the year.