Pacifica, North County Fire Authority brief residents on wildfire readiness, evacuation planning

Pacifica city staff and North County Fire Authority officials on Jan. 27 described current and planned wildfire-preparedness steps, told residents how to find evacuation-zone information and urged household-level planning. City Manager Kevin Woodhouse opened the briefing and read a statement from the North Coast County Water District about supply and storage capacity before turning the floor over to Chief Ron Myers of the North County Fire Authority.

City Manager Kevin Woodhouse said Pacifica will continue to “abide by Pacifica’s Sanctuary City Ordinance and California’s Sanctuary State Law” while the city reviews changes at the federal level. He also announced a Coastal Conservancy funding request supported by the city for a wildfire-mitigation planning and design project along Highway 1 from the Devil’s Slide tunnel to Pedro Point, a corridor officials called important for evacuation safety.

Ron Myers, fire chief of North County Fire Authority, described the authority’s public outreach and operational preparedness. Myers told the council and residents the authority uses daily public messaging, distributes a Ready-Set-Go preparedness brochure, and promotes the Zonehaven “know your zone” mapping and refrigerator magnet so families know which evacuation zone to watch. He said the police department will lead evacuations within a Unified Command that includes Caltrans, public works and highway patrol, and stressed that authorities will prioritize keeping Highway 1 moving during large evacuations.

Myers also described mutual-aid arrangements and rapid aircraft response for vegetation fires, noting that Pacifica incidents typically remain small: “We try to hold our fires below 10 acres; generally nothing gets beyond about 2 acres in Pacifica.” He outlined community trainings the authority provides, including hands-only CPR, CERT classes and quarterly preparedness newsletters, and said the authority holds monthly call-in preparedness meetings. Battalion Chief Nick Gracia, who leads emergency planning, was introduced as the on-staff contact who runs those programs.

The North Coast County Water District’s executive director, Adrian Carr, provided a written statement read into the record describing the district’s infrastructure: roughly 130 miles of pipeline, 11 active storage tanks totaling about 18,250,000 gallons, more than 1,000 hydrants, six emergency intertie connections to neighboring agencies, and pump stations with on-site standby generators. The statement noted in-progress capital improvements that will increase fire flow and storage, including: a Sheila Lane tank replacement raising capacity from about 100,000 to 600,000 gallons and design work for a Fassler Avenue tank replacement that would increase storage from about 500,000 to 1,200,000 gallons.

Myers and council members discussed the state’s forthcoming fire severity-zone designations and the 180-day requirement to adopt a model ordinance once jurisdictions receive their letters. Myers said the model uses a program called Embercast to estimate ember travel and potential spread, and that Pacifica had been omitted from “very high severity” designations in an earlier state process but will await the new maps when they arrive.

Residents asked specific questions during an on-the-record Q&A. Irene Lee asked where evacuees should gather and was told officials will direct evacuees to temporary assembly points based on the incident location. Erin Mesias urged the council to create a standing task force to address vegetation that crosses property lines and to revisit code-enforcement options; she described a broad area of unmanaged growth near her home and asked for a coordinated, multiagency response. Multiple residents asked about insurance and whether the state’s new maps would affect coverage; Myers said maps will show wildfire-spread potential but will not replace insurers’ own risk analyses.

Myers and Woodhouse emphasized household preparedness: know-your-zone maps, packed-go bags with medications, defensible-space work, and staying informed through North County Fire Authority’s social media and newsletters. Myers provided a public phone number for the authority’s main office during the meeting (650-800-6580) and encouraged residents to join the monthly Zoom preparedness call (next scheduled Feb. 25, 2025).

Ending: Council members thanked the fire authority and water district for the briefing and asked staff to return with the designations and with further details once the state’s severity-zone letter arrives. The council also allowed limited public comment immediately after the briefing for residents who had questions specific to the presentation.