photo credit: Patrick Dirden/flickr
A rancher and small herd of cattle at the edge of rising flood waters on Sanford Road in Sebastopol. 

Emergency prep is a big deal in Sonoma County.

Residents have been urged to "know your zone" and have a go-bag ready, but it seems there’s still progress to be made.

The destructive Tubbs Fire laid bare the failure of local evacuation plans in 2017, but even now, eight years on, Sonoma County’s Civil Grand Jury said the county is still unprepared for large scale emergency evacuations.

Civil grand juries exist in all 58 California counties, and are convened annually by the State Superior Court as volunteer watchdogs of public agencies and officials.

Rob Hunter is a member of Sonoma County's Civil Grand Jury, and helped write their recently released report.

“ We've had serious fires in four consecutive years, we've had floods for each of the last three years," Hunter said. "The role that the county plays as the lead in emergency planning and evacuation management made it an obvious choice to be our principal respondent.”

The report lists narrow roads; data and tech gaps, like cell outages; and insufficient staffing flexibility among the ways Sonoma County is unequipped for an emergency evacuation.

After the Tubbs and Kincade Fires, the county made strides in defining evacuation zones, but Hunter said there are still no actual specified evacuation routes.

“ They at least present an organized index for people to know the extent to which they are immediately at risk," Hunter said. "But that's about all they do.”

Santa Rosa on the other hand, has established specific evacuation routes and shelter sites.

The report also found that while Sonoma County has solid tools and the experience to deal with emergencies, the evacuation protocols rely too heavily on impromptu plans.

Hunter said the Civil Grand Jury's suggestions include establishing zone-specific evacuation plans, improving roadways, upgrading real time data programs like GIS, and solidifying emergency personnel staffing.

“ The report speaks for itself," Hunter said. "We hope that the people who have the authority to make the change read it as it was written.”

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, Department of Emergency Management, the Public Infrastructure Department, and the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office are all required to submit a response.