Lamorinda’s Virtual Evacuation Exercise
Saturday morning, September 30, 2023

Issued:  September 14, 2023

The Lamorinda Police Departments in cooperation with the Moraga-Orinda Fire District, Contra Costa County Fire and the Contra Costa County Community Warning System (CWS) will conduct a community-wide virtual evacuation exercise beginning at 8:00 AM on Saturday, September 30. Exercise messages will be sent to everyone that has signed up for CWS text message or email notifications in all Lamorinda cities and to the Community of Canyon. Residents should expect a notification from CWS via text and/or email sometime between 8:00 AM and 9:30 AM.   Note: We are not initiating phone calls for this exercise, messages will be Txt and email only.

The purpose of the exercise is to test and refine the communication systems that will be used in the event an emergency evacuation is required.

While we all hope an emergency evacuation will never be needed, preparing for the event is essential. Here are some things you should do:

• Sign up for alerts on your smart phone with the Contra Costa County Community Warning System- https://alerts5.athoc.com/SelfService/CCCCWS/Register
• Know Your Zone! Contra Costa County is divided into evacuation zones. Knowing your zone will allow you to quickly identify your neighborhood’s evacuation status and know when it’s safe to return home. Find you zone here- https://cwsalerts.com/know-your-zone/
•  Don’t forget to save the information where you can find it in an emergency.
• Know your neighbors- If it’s safe and there is time, go next door and make sure your neighbors received the evacuation message. Your neighbors may also need help to evacuate.
• Include the CWS emergency notification number (925-655-0195) in your favorite contacts on your phone so you will receive messages when your phone is set to “do not disturb”. For directions on how to do this visit- https://www.lamorindacert.org/resource/cell-phone-do-not-disturb/
• Review the Lamorinda Resident’s Guide to Wildfire Preparedness and Evacuation here- https://lamorindacert.org/evacuate/documents/LRGWPE.pdf