Evacuation exercise planned for Hacienda and Rio Nido neighborhoods in west County

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The Sonoma County Department of Emergency Management, in partnership with community preparedness groups, will be holding an evacuation exercise on Saturday, April 25 for the Hacienda and Rio Nido communities in west Sonoma County.

The purpose of the exercise is to help residents familiarize themselves with evacuation routes; safely practice evacuating using those routes; exercise the SoCoAlert system to notify participating residents and to encourage residents to register for the county’s alert system.

“Exercises like these help ensure everyone understands what to do in the event of a real emergency,” said Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, who represents the area. “For this exercise, we encourage residents to sign up to participate. In real emergencies, be sure to register for SoCoAlert to receive critical alerts and know your zone so you’re ready to act when a real evacuation or shelter-in-place order is issued.”

Details of the exercise:

When: Saturday, April 25 from 9 a.m. to noon for the exercise.
Who: Residents of the Hacienda and Rio Nido Neighborhoods.
Evacuate to: The Temporary Evacuation Point (TEP) will be at Sunset Beach River Park, 11060 River Road in Forestville.

Residents who live in these communities are encouraged to register by Thursday, April 23 for this exercise. They will receive the alert at the start of the exercise. Hi-lo sirens will be audible throughout the exercise areas to alert residents to evacuate at that time. Residents do not need to bring pets or animals with them.

At the evacuation meeting location there will be a resource fair with emergency partners providing information on how to prepare homes, families and pets in the event of a real emergency. Residents who participated in the evacuation exercise will be invited to take a survey to help the exercise coordinators learn what worked and identify areas for improvement for future exercises.

Event and map sequence:

The evacuation exercise is planned by the Sonoma County Department of Emergency Management, Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, County Executive’s Office, Public Infrastructure, Regional Parks and the Human Services Department. Also participating in the planning is Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit, California Highway Patrol and the American Red Cross.

Emergency officials encourage residents to identify official sources of information now so that during an emergency they have direct access to accurate and timely facts. Visit SoCoEmergency.org to view a list of local sources of official information.

Register to participate in this exercise and learn more.

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Media Contact:
Karen Hancock, Public Information Officer
Karen.Hancock@sonomacounty.gov
(707) 565-1794
2300 County Center Drive, Suite B220
Santa Rosa, CA 95403