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Woodside Fire reports growth in "node" preparedness program; department adds engines and staff
Summary
Woodside Fire told Portola Valley’s Emergency Preparedness Committee on May 7 that the WPV Ready node-and-communicator program has grown to 52 communicators, Epic will purchase node kits for forming neighborhoods, and the fire district will receive new apparatus and three lateral hires this month.
Selena, representing Woodside Fire and the WPV Ready initiative, updated Portola Valley’s Emergency Preparedness Committee on May 7 about neighborhood preparedness, training and recent operational developments.
"We are now up to 52 communicators, which is really awesome," Selena said, reporting that communicator training completed in April and that several neighborhood areas are organizing nodes. She said Epic (a regional preparedness partner) will buy node kits for communities that form teams and that exercises will invite residents from Portola Valley and Woodside to participate.
Selena described a recent sandbagging and coordination training attended by about 10–15 people and said Woodside Fire and the town of Woodside are increasing support for regional preparedness: "Woodside Fire is upping their donation to match town... 15,000 to Epic," she said, referring to matched funding for Epic’s preparedness work.
Committee members asked whether it makes sense to prefill and store sandbags or rely on rapid volunteer callouts when storms approach. Selena noted tradeoffs and practical concerns, cautioning that storing filled sandbags can attract animals and that staged volunteer fill events timed to weather forecasts may be preferable.
On suppression and staffing, the fire representative said the district expects delivery of a Type 3 wildland engine and a Type 1 engine in the coming weeks and has hired three lateral firefighters who begin May 25. Citing CalFire data, the representative reported that 1,085 wildfires have occurred in California this year, with 14,696 acres burned and seven structures destroyed; there were no fatalities reported in the statewide tally.
Members discussed consolidating layers (nodes, communicators, Zone Haven, Firewise) into a single map or a chart showing volunteer coverage, with suggestions to display neighborhood status using a simple green/yellow/red scheme to indicate where recruits are needed. Selena said the fire district already supports a layered community map and that more layers and a chart could be developed to show coverage and volunteer hours.
Selena offered to share volunteer hours data and other documentation with the committee. Members thanked her for the report and suggested moving future fire-team reports earlier in the agenda to make them accessible to more residents.
