Practice makes perfect for Paradise Valley residents fleeing fire in drill
On Saturday morning, households in La Cañada’s Paradise Valley neighborhood received notice a wildland fire had started on Mount Lukens at 6 a.m. and, fueled by wind gusts, was heading down Pickens Canyon and threatening homes in the area.
They were advised to gather vital belongings and evacuate to Rosemont Middle School in La Crescenta. There, a unified command post of first responders had established headquarters and were waiting to meet residents before giving the “all-clear” signal.
Saturday’s exercise was part of an evacuation drill conducted jointly by the Los Angeles County Fire Department and Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station to ensure residents living in areas with restricted access are practiced if and when real danger should strike.
Residents of La Crescenta’s Briggs Terrace — where hundreds of homeowners have Briggs Avenue as their sole point of entry and exit — also participated in Saturday’s drill, according to Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station Sgt. John Gilbert.
“If, all of a sudden, everybody at once is evacuating, you’re going to have traffic congestion,” Gilbert said. “That’s part of the reason we’re doing this — to see how it works out in real time so we can learn from it.”
Fire and sheriff’s vehicles hit the affected streets shortly after 9 a.m., their sirens blaring and evacuation orders delivered across a PA system. Paradise Valley residents within earshot had mere minutes to leave their houses, driving single file down Ocean View Boulevard.
At Rosemont Middle School, participants and first responders debriefed, discussing what worked and what improvements could be made in future drills, or in an emergency.
The drill took place just weeks before the 10-year anniversary of the mudslides that struck Paradise Valley homes following the 2009 Station fire, devastating multiple properties. Gilbert said an earlier similar drill was conducted Aug. 1, 2009, just weeks before the fire started.
“In this particular area you could have a drill like this and then, just a short time later, have to utilize these same skills,” the sergeant added.
