Calistoga chiefs brief council on evacuation, mutual aid and warning systems

Chief Salaia and Chief Matrim briefed the council on Calistoga’s emergency-preparedness framework, describing how the city fits into the county Emergency Operations Plan and how the Calistoga annex specifies local Emergency Operations Center responsibilities, evacuation and sheltering appendices, and training aligned with Cal OES and FEMA standards.

Chief Salaia said the county plan (last updated in 2017) and the Calistoga annex lay out roles for evacuation, mass care and sheltering and that the county is beginning work on an update. The chiefs reviewed large past activations, noting full-city evacuations during major wildfire incidents (including events in 2017 and 2020) and described coordination with mutual-aid partners across the county and state during those incidents.

They highlighted operational lessons from those activations — particularly challenges when access is limited to a single in/out route — and discussed special-needs populations, mass transport with AMR and buses, and a monthly siren test. Chief Salaia explained the city uses Everbridge (formerly Nixle) as a primary notification system and operates a five-siren network; he urged residents to monitor official channels (Everbridge messages, local media and the city website) when a siren sounds.

The chiefs described planned training improvements, including additional Emergency Operations Center exercises planned for the second or third quarter. Council members thanked the chiefs and asked questions about evacuation logistics, public messaging and coordination with neighboring jurisdictions.

Next steps: staff anticipate further EOC training later in the year and continued coordination with Napa County and neighboring cities on mutual-aid and evacuation planning.