Evacuation drill, seminar prepare El Dorado Hills community for peak fire season
EL DORADO HILLS - In El Dorado Hills, an evacuation drill was conducted to get everyone up to speed as red flag conditions were at the top of everyone's minds.
The wind this past week and the heat picking up bring this high on the priority list.
El Dorado County first responders went door to door for an evacuation drill.
People who live here are preparing for the real thing.
"I think in general these last few years we've had in California, that's jolted me," said homeowner Curtis Lee.
Lee was one of several homeowners who came out to an evacuation town hall, including a seminar on safety to get people prepared for the worst.
"I moved into the area a couple of years ago from Folsom, so I'm aware of the fire hazards here," he said. "My property has a lot of acreage to it, so it's nice to know what they're providing for us in terms of literature and help."
"In a real evacuation, we would be doing that. Going door to door, making sure that people are aware," said Sgt. Kyle Parker with the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office.
He said drills and seminars like these are necessary.
"It's very important that people understand and know how we're going to contact them so we can contact them as soon as possible," Parker said.
Lee said it's helped him already.
"I have a good plan now, and go back and take care of the property and have a defensible space," he said. "One of them being pets. We have pets, and although we have a grab bag for them, they said to have a picture of your pets, that helped strengthen our grab bag for them."
"It's a matter of when. We will have numerous fires this fire season, along with all the counties," Parker said.
Officials want to remind you that if you're ever in an evacuation warning area, get things in order. Medication, important papers, and pets, because if it turns into an order, you never know how long until you come back home.
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