Encinitas commission approves wildfire preparedness survey; workshop set for Saturday

The Encinitas Public Health and Safety Commission voted to adopt a set of wildfire preparedness survey questions and approved staff’s plan for a community workshop and public outreach. Commissioner Vaughn moved to accept the questions as amended in discussion; the motion was seconded and passed.

Fire Chief Gordon (referred to in the meeting as Chief Gordon) and the city’s emergency manager described the survey and how staff intend to distribute it. Chief Gordon said staff recommended adopting the survey questions that night: “One of the things that we'll ask as a recommended action is to adopt the wildfire preparing our survey questions tonight,” he said. The survey mixes Likert‑scale items, multiple‑choice drop‑downs and narrative text fields to collect information on communication channels, evacuation knowledge, household preparedness, barriers to action, perceptions of emergency response, and neighborhood readiness.

Staff explained distribution plans that include a workshop at the senior center, flyers and business‑card sized handouts with a QR code and a web link, posting the survey on the city website, social media notices, a banner at fire stations, and outreach through the Olivenhain/Leavenhain Fire Safe Council and neighborhood ambassadors. The emergency manager said the Fire Safe Council will distribute the survey to its mailing list (about 1,300 contacts) and that neighborhood ambassadors would conduct door‑to‑door outreach in their areas.

Commissioners discussed survey content and wording. Several commissioners recommended changes: replacing an individual “age” question with household age‑range options; clarifying that responses can be per household; listing common alert channels such as text, TV, social media, city website, reverse‑911/cell‑phone emergency alerts and word‑of‑mouth; and offering a Spanish translation of materials. Staff said they would add a household age‑range field and produce Spanish flyers and a Spanish version of the survey; additional language translations were deferred because of time and staffing constraints.

Commissioners also recommended adding neighborhood‑specific outreach (HOAs, senior center, high‑traffic storefronts) and asked staff to consider a question that would allow respondents to report current local fire hazards. Staff cautioned that an open question about neighbors’ yards or hazards could generate large numbers of complaints that staff would need to vet; they proposed placing such an item under “additional feedback” so it could be reviewed.

Chief Gordon and Deputy Fire Chief Jorge Sanchez described recruitment and outreach efforts the fire department is using to increase department diversity and staffing, including sponsoring fire‑academy positions, an explorer/reserve program, and partnerships with Miramar College and local high schools. That discussion followed questions about the department’s outreach successes and constraints, including limited staff time and budget for large recruitment campaigns.

Staff said the workshop will be a special meeting and will run longer than the usual agenda time: they plan to open at 9 a.m., extend to noon, and hold the workshop in the senior center’s large meeting room. The format will use large city maps with push‑pins so attendees can mark where they live, Post‑it stations for quick comments, and facilitated breakout tables matching the survey topics. Staff said facilitators and scribes—city personnel and fire staff—will be available at each table.

The commission approved the survey as amended and directed staff to finalize typographical and minor wording edits offline. Staff will post the survey on the city landing page, distribute printed flyers and business cards, and coordinate outreach with the Fire Safe Council and neighborhood ambassadors. Staff also said the survey results will be used alongside workshop notes and public input to inform future commission reports.

The meeting record shows the motion to adopt the survey questions passed; commissioners did not record a roll‑call vote in the transcript excerpt provided, but the chair announced, “Motion passes.”