New Tool Helps Marin Residents, Officials Plan For Emergencies

SAN RAFAEL, CA—A new countywide evacuation tool is available for Marin County residents to plan their best route to safety in case of an emergency.

The county is using a company called Zonehaven to map Marin communities. Residents can use the map to find where they live and see if there are any evacuation warnings. This tool is still being updated; the county estimates it will be fully launched by Spring 2022.

“The development of the county-wide evacuation map has been a unified effort by all of our local law and fire agencies,” Undersheriff Jamie Scardina said in a news release. “Community resilience starts with community planning, and we want all residents to know that we have a plan for safe and efficient evacuations.”

You can watch a YouTube video about the tool here.

First responders will also use this tool to plan and carry out evacuations if there is an emergency. Public safety officials will update the community with information during an evacuation.

“The Zonehaven mapping tool allows access to real-time weather, traffic and fire information, and has the ability to model traffic and fire spread scenarios, which is a huge benefit during an emergency,” said Woody Baker-Cohn, Assistant Emergency Services Manager for Marin County, in the news release. “It also allows us to use emergency scenarios to run drills and training exercises to help us plan.”

The county purchased a three-year Zonehaven subscriptions with funds from Measure C through the Marin Wildlife Prevention Authority. The town of Tiburon and city of Belvedere also contributed funding.

The county will also launch a "Know Your Zone" public awareness campaign.

The Marin County Sheriff's Office, all Marin municipalities, and the Marin Wildlife Prevention Authority collaborated to launch this new tool, according to a news release. Other Bay Area counties including Alameda, Lake, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Sonoma also use Zonehaven.