On Saturday, April 2, the Town of Los Gatos held a fire evacuation drill for residents in the College Hill neighborhood. The drill was conducted by the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department along with volunteers from the Community Emergency Response Team, Disaster Aid Response Team, and the American Red Cross.
Prior to the exercise, several “AlertSCC” messages were sent to area residents, including an update about the scenario the night before the drill began.
At about 9am the next morning, the residents were advised to account for all household members and pets, and told to drive to the evacuation center location at the Calvary Church parking lot.
The American Red Cross team, led by local volunteer Brad Gordon, processed approximately 60 participants. While the drill was underway, several CERT volunteers were assigned to conduct in-field checks on hillside residents who simulated the inability to evacuate (due to handicaps, medical reasons, or accessibility) as a part of the exercise.
CERT teams delivered valuable emergency information and advised DART members of their status, similar to what would occur during a real wildfire evacuation. DART Team members were also posted at several of the traffic evacuation route locations to collect information from evacuees. People of all ages took part.
The parking lot at Calvary Church served as a staging area with radio communications, coordination of resources and services, parking, and Red Cross processing of shelter logistics.
CERT and DART volunteers set up and handled the various assignments throughout the exercise. Greg Kerlin, a CERT neighborhood lead, was the incident commander for the drill and coordinated with Town staff and other CERT resident leads to make sure things proceeded smoothly.
In addition, the Emergency Operations Center at the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department was staffed and provided radio communications with the staging area and CERT field personnel throughout the drill.
At the conclusion, organizers debriefed volunteer staff along with Police Chief Jamie Field, Captain Clint Tada, Sergeant Katherine Mann, Sergeant Greg Borromeo, as well as Assistant Town Manager Arn Andrews and Los Gatos’ Community Outreach Coordinator Jackie Rose.
With fire season arriving, organizers say residents need to be prepared for wildfires, understanding that it is not a matter of if, but when, disaster will strike. The big question we need to ask ourselves, they say, is—Are we ready?
To receive alerts from the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department sign up with Nixle by texting your zip code to 888777 or go online to www.Nixle.com and www.Alertscc.com
For more information on how to be better prepared for a wildfire, and for those interested in joining the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Community Emergency Response Team, please contact: Santa Clara County Fire Department at www.sccfd.org.
(All photos contributed)
