Butte County has new evacuation map for wildfires
15 March 2022
Published by: https://fox40.com
USA – BUTTE COUNTY, Calif. (KTXL) — Butte County first responders announced the creation of an interactive map with brand-new evacuation zones.
What sets the new map apart from others is it’s divided into more than 400 zones — specifically, what the Butte County Sheriff’s Office refers to as evacuation zones.
The newly-designed map comes just over three years after the Camp Fire destroyed the town of Paradise and left 85 people dead in what was the deadliest fire in California history.
The conditions posed significant challenges for first responders, and in some cases, making it difficult for them to figure out where to reach trapped homeowners.
“The lessons that we learned from the Camp Fire are numerous and this is part of the lesson,” said Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea. “Certainly trying to describe zones, especially when you had fire in many cases surrounding you, became extraordinarily difficult.”
That’s why Sheriff Honea said he hopes the newly-drawn zones, each labeled with its own unique code, will allow homeowners to know immediately when it’s time to evacuate.
As for first responders, Honea expressed confidence that the map will enable them to navigate burn areas more easily and promptly put together an evacuation plan when the next fire or emergency strikes.
“Part of this whole process was to try to streamline and make it easier for first responders to identify areas that needed to be evacuated and then communicate it in a way that is quick and efficient,” Honea said.
Not only was the process quick and efficient for first responders but the changes to the map on the Butte County Sheriff’s website also made things easier for the homeowners.
“There is no break in fire season here in Butte County anymore. This entire effort is in the hope that we can save lives. Please, please, please memorize your zone. Pay attention to what we’re saying across multiple platforms, and heed the warnings or orders that we give out,” Honea emphasized.
In the event homeowners do not have access to the internet, the Butte County Sheriff’s Office is working to reach people through other platforms and mediums including the ALERT FM system.
