All households should Prepare Wildfire Evacuation Plan. Along with knowing multiple ways to keep yourself informed in an evacuation, you should know the zone your neighborhood is in and several evacuation routes out of town.
Should an evacuation call be made in Portola Valley by our fire professionals, SMCAlert will be used to send out the information to landlines, cell phones/text and emails. The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office will be deployed to manage traffic flow out of Portola Valley along the Town’s two primary evacuations routes of Alpine and Portola Road.
Know Your Zone. Genasys Protect is used in Portola Valley and across San Mateo County to identify evacuation zones and provide clear, location-specific instructions during emergencies. The Genasys Protect app lets residents look up their zone and receive guidance, but SMC Alert remains the primary notification system for official warnings and evacuation orders. Knowing your zone ensures you can act quickly and confidently when every minute matters.
Evacuation Study - At their June 2021 budget meetings, the Town Council authorized a project to study evacuation in Portola Valley. Specifically, the study is expected to develop models to review different time of day/week scenarios for an evacuation, based on current traffic assumptions and new data developed by the consultant, as well as examine the Town's physical infrastructure to determine the need for any improvements to support an evacuation.
Staff has completed first round interviews with prospective consultants, and the study is expected to being in September with a completion early next year.
Here is the Council's adopted priority for FY 2021-22 on Wildfire Preparedness
Emergency Preparedness Committee Draft Evacuation Plan
