Can Orinda evacuate in time if a wildfire starts at night?
A court ruled that the City’s original growth plan added more housing than the law could support given Orinda’s currently inadequate evacuation system.
The City’s own environmental report determined the plan would significantly impair emergency response and evacuation.
Why This Matters to Orinda
Orinda is a hillside community with limited exit routes.
Residents and emergency vehicles will compete for use of those limited routes.
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This creates a simple safety question:
Can we all evacuate before a fast-moving wildfire reaches neighborhoods?
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Right now, the City is working on answering that question and on developing solutions.
What the Court Decided
In 2024, the State Superior Court ruled:
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The City approved its long-term development plan without sufficient analysis of wildfire evacuation impacts.
The judge found the Environmental Impact Report did not provide enough information for decision-makers or the public to understand the magnitude of evacuation risk.
This ruling did not stop all development, but required a reduction of development to the amount demanded by the State.
It also required the City to improve the evacuation system to handle the increase in population density.
Do We Have Enough Time to Evacuate?
Three clocks of wildfire evacuation safety:
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How quickly the fire spreads
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How early residents are warned
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How long evacuation takes​​
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More residents using the same roads means longer evacuation time.
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Emergency vehicles rely on those same roads.
A computer model of wildfires in Orinda is being created to improve emergency response and evacuation.
What the City Must Do Now
Planning will only happen once.
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Once long-term development approvals are finalized, future projects will rely on this analysis.
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If evacuation capacity is not evaluated correctly now, it may not be revisited for decades.
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This is the community’s opportunity to ensure evacuation safety is verified before irreversible decisions are made.
Get Involved with OSEE
Orindans for Safe Emergency Evacuation (OSEE) is a non-partisan group of local residents focused on one issue:
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Adequate evacuation and emergency response capacity during wildfire.
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We support housing, community vitality, and downtown improvements, provided life safety is verified first.
Donate
Now
Venmo: @OrindaSEE (case sensitive)​
Zelle: OrindaSEE@gmail.com
OSEE is a volunteer organization created to ensure evacuation safety is properly prioritized.
Donations support independent review and public education.
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Let’s Work Together
We appreciate your support! Let us know how to reach you.