Posted on 04/27/2012 12:03:07 PM PDT by BenLurkin
TOPANGA (CBS) — A massive multi-agency wildfire drill set for this Saturday will call upon residents in Topanga Canyon to evacuate their homes.
KNX 1070′s Ron Kilgore reports county officials are hoping the exercise will highlight the canyon’s various transportation challenges
The drill is expected to test residents’ response to an emergency in a neighborhood that has only one major roadway by asking them to actually vacate the canyon.
“Let’s see if we can evacuate that community and simulate a fire that is impinging on that community and we need to protect people by evacuation,” said Anthony Whittle, Assistant Fire Chief for the Los Angeles County Fire Department and incident commander for the exercise.
Residents will be asked to drive out to either the Red Cross Evacuation Centers at Taft or Palisades High Schools during the drill, with updates expected to come through ALERT-LA phone lines or by subscribing to the emergency notification service by text messaging the word “EVACUATION” to 888777
The mock scenario will simulate a fast-moving fire blocking the canyon’s north end — a scenario that Whittle said could potentially be a threat to communities beyond Topanga Canyon.
“The wind-driven fire based on that 2-to-6-hour window can go all the way from the 101 corridor all the way to the ocean,” he noted.
The exercise is scheduled from April 28 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Residents will be able to hear “evacuation” updates throughout the day on KNX
We were on a cruise ship once and they had the mandatory lifeboat drill. We just locked ourselves in our cabin and had some private time...
This could be taken as an invitation to come in and burgle all the vacant houses. I hope the police have thought of that.
I don’t think I’d want to play.
The cruise lines have made that more difficult. The last several we have been on have either checked passengers off of a list or scanned their IDs. The all clear is not given until everyone is accounted for.
They just want to find out how many will comply when told to leave their homes.
They just put all burglars on call to enter the canyon a little early and get ready to go to work as soon as the coast is clear!
I was actually surprised we got away with it.
BTW, that sounds like a lot of work and very time consuming.
Yes, plus public humiliation. We were on one where everyone was kept waiting while the staff announced the names and cabin numbers of the missing and ordered them to report in.
I remember the fire in the Oakland hills. A friend lost her life first it seemed there was plenty of time to get out and suddenly the fire came very quickly. Friend wasold woman could not run down road fast enough
True and if you fail to appear, there is a good chance you will not be going on the cruse.
Though this sounds like an invitation to a cluster0flock, it is probably a good idea. The roads around and through Topanga are almost all twisted, narrow, and confusing. Not a place to need to get out of in a hurry.
ONE REASON all my buildings have steel roofs. All of them.
‘Course, where I live, tornadoes are more the issue.
It could also be an eye opener for people who live in the area and may actually have to evacuate someday. I have never cared for the “authorities” ordering mandatory evacuations, even in times of emergency,but for those who do want to leave it’s helpful to know what road conditions will be like if you wait too long.
Just tell them you executed a ‘virtual evacuation’ - same premise as the ‘virtual fence’ on the southern border.
You can thank those who lost their lives in the Titanic disaster that you have lifeboat drills. As the Titanic did not have enough lifeboats for all those who were aboard.
But then the lifeboat drills did not help those who died when a recent cruise ship ran aground. However, it kind of helps when crew members stay and help passengers on to lifeboats rather than be coawards and leave every man for themselves.
All the more reason to stay home.
Yes, there is documentation for that connection. Interestingly and by the same source, Catellus shares office building with The Nature Conservancy.
It is thus no accident that so many recent rural/suburban fires have resulted in massive housing losses. In fact, it's a matter of policy. "Firefighter safety" don't you know, and yes, I've seen them yucking it up with the engines idling in town while collecting overtime for a fire up the hill. The brave firefighters of yore are long gone. It's affirmative action yoonyuns now. CCC prisoners do the bulk of real wild-land firefighting.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.