Carmel Prepares April 25 and townwide evacuation drill set for May 30, chief says

Chief Todd Trayer urged residents to attend a community preparedness event and to sign up for a townwide evacuation drill during Friday's briefing.

Carmel Prepares is scheduled for April 25 at 10 a.m. at the Sunset Center, Chief Trayer said, and will feature presentations by Deb and John, survivors of the Altadena fire, and volunteers Wanda and Scott from the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).

The chief also outlined an evacuation drill set for May 30 at 9 a.m. Residents who did not receive a recent alert or who are unsure about their alert settings were urged to sign up using a QR code at the post office or online. "What will happen on the 30th is you'll get the alert to go to Mona Verde and Ocean," Trayer said, and pedestrians were directed to Hanipero and Ocean. Buses will shuttle participants to and from the designated safe zone.

Trayer said volunteers from the VIP and CERT programs will guide participants and that the drill will test the alert system and emergency procedures. He also noted the city will not activate the air-raid siren this year, saying it would be inappropriate under current circumstances.

Next steps: Carmel Prepares and the May 30 drill are open to residents; staff encouraged sign-ups and said volunteers will be on hand to marshal participants.