Multi-agency evacuation drill set for next week

A wildfire evacuation drill involving Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District and Skyland Fire Adapted Community will take place June 8 from 10am-2pm.

The drill will give residents the opportunity to practice evacuating from their homes and getting to the designated safe zone.

The event will begin with an all agency briefing then Douglas County sheriff’s deputies drive each street in Skyland giving evacuation instructions on a bullhorn. Residents will be directed to Zephyr Cove Park where an evacuation center will set up for registration.

The drill will serve to remind all residents that in the event of a wildfire, if the situation permits, they should make certain all windows and doors are tightly closed to keep embers out, turn on all lights so firefighters can see inside your home, close all interior doors, remove lightweight curtains and drapes as they may catch fire from radiated heat, put all flammable furniture inside the home, and open the gates to fences to create a firebreak.

The last evacuation drill was in 2012 with the Zephyr Knolls and Zephyr Heights neighborhoods.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Department, Douglas County Search and Rescue, Nevada Highway Patrol, Douglas County Community Emergency Response Team, U.S. Forest Service, South Lake Tahoe Fire Department, Lake Valley Fire Protection District, East Fork Fire District, Douglas County Emergency Management, Southwest Gas, NV Energy and the Humane Society will also participate in the drill.