Are Marin’s Roads Ready for Wildfire Evacuations?
When wildfire strikes, the most important thing is keeping people safe. This means leaving quickly and safely by car, which provides protection against heat, smoke, embers and debris. But what happens if the fire is so close that the heat makes it dangerous for evacuees? If a car heats up too fast, the people inside could be at risk.
As part of the on-going update of the County’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), Marin Wildfire has completed the safety assessment of Marin’s roads as evacuation routes during a wildfire.
While approximately 9 out of 10 miles of roads in Marin meet the safety standards necessary to handle wildfire heat levels, some roadways are in need of fire-safety efforts to make them safer.
What does “fire-resilient” mean?
Example of the modeled air temperature approach to estimate roadway fire resilience and the heat flux received at each roadway segment.
A road is considered “fire resilient” if a car would heat up by less than 3°F per minute during a wildfire. This number was chosen to help protect the most vulnerable people—like kids and the elderly—who may not tolerate heat as well. Safer roads mean faster, safer evacuations.
To learn more about the resilient roads study and what you can do to prepare for such situations, please visit the CWPP website.
Fire Safe Marin also provides a range of resources to help residents prepare for wildfire emergencies.
Funding for Fire Safe Marin’s participation in the CWPP project was provided by a grant from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection as part of the California Climate Investments Program, through the California Fire Safe Council.
Funding for the Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) Update Project comes from Measure C funds through Marin Wildfire.
