Grandview Thorpe neighborhood credits evacuation drill for exposing evacuation choke points

The Grandview Thorpe Neighborhood Council told the Spokane City Council on July 14 that a May 3 wildfire evacuation drill exposed serious evacuation bottlenecks and reinforced the neighborhood's urgent need for safer egress and wildfire preparedness. The neighborhood presentation, given by Tina Lewerson, community assembly representative, and Marybeth McGinley, secretary for the Grandview Thorpe Neighborhood Council, said the May 3 exercise mobilized residents and city partners, clarified gaps in routes out of the ridge and led the Spokane Fire Department to schedule intensive multi-day training in the neighborhood. The presentation matters because Grandview Thorpe is almost entirely residential, has no schools or community centers, limited transit and constrained connections to the south and west, and residents told council that wildfire risk has increased since the neighborhood action plan the council adopted in 2015. Lewerson and McGinley described the drill as a collaboration with city emergency management, Spokane Fire Department, Spokane Police Department, Spokane County Fire District 3, the county emergency management office, the National Weather Service and the American Red Cross. Lewerson said the drill used Alert Spokane messaging and door-to-door canvassing and that 237 vehicles exited the neighborhood; "206 of those vehicles came through a single intersection, Fourteenth And Linda Quay," creating a major bottleneck, the presenters said. They said low-clearance bridges and other constrained streets meant some emergency-response vehicles would have to take a roundabout route to access parts of the neighborhood. The presenters also pointed to construction on Sixteenth Avenue during a recent season that temporarily closed a major egress point. The presenters described other work the council and volunteers do year-round: neighborhood cleanups, a block party that drew more than 75 neighbors, and conservation-futures-secured private property adjacent to the trolley trail that the neighborhood and Spokane Parks plan to improve with safety upgrades and historical signage funded by a Spokane Parks Foundation grant. Council members asked clarifying questions about easements on the trolley-trail map and expressed appreciation. Council member Dylan thanked the neighborhood for the drill and said he expected additional conversations about the Department of Natural Resources-held Thorpe property. Lewerson specifically thanked Emergency Management Director Sarah Nass and council members who attended or supported the effort. Residents and city staff who observed the drill provided feedback the presenters said was essential for improving future exercises. No formal council action was taken on the presentation; the item was a community update to the legislative agenda. The neighborhood presentation closed with the council and presenters praising the neighborhood-council structure and community-assembly grants that helped the council run engagement events and preparedness work.