By Rodd Cayton
Some assumptions made by a group promoting emergency preparedness in Placitas have borne out, survey results indicate. But Allen Saville says some residents may be unrealistic about how prepared they are for a fire or other emergency.
Saville, president of the Placitas Resilience & Emergency Preparedness Alliance (PREP) and a former Firefighter/EMT, discussed the survey at a Sept. 15 community briefing. The survey was mailed to 3,018 local addresses. Two days before the presentation, the group had received 155 responses.
As expected, residents’ primary concern is a wildfire. “That’s the most obvious one, I think,” Saville said, alluding to the community’s location near ample fuel in the Sandia Mountains. Ranked second is water system failure, a category he said could include concerns such as Placitas running out of water, personal wells running dry or the neighborhood water co-op ceasing to exist.
Saville explicitly questioned the accuracy of respondents’ self-assessments. For example, he said, 48% of respondents claimed to have created adequate defensible space — a fuel-free buffer zone between a building and surrounding grass, trees, shrubs, or the like — around their homes. “My estimation riding around the city is that number’s high,” Saville said He similarly disputed the 72% who claimed to have five days of shelter-in-place supplies, challenging them to check PREP’s official supply list and answer the question again.
While 28% of respondents claimed to be “fairly well prepared” for an emergency and 45% said they could “muddle through,” granular questions about specific preparation steps painted a different picture. Saville said 49% of respondents have a wildland fire plan, 57% know what to bring during an evacuation, and 64% possess a functional fire extinguisher. However, he said, 52% have done nothing toward fire mitigation or creating defensible space, and 43% have no plan for dealing with a structure fire.
The survey says 13% have practiced a standard 20-minute evacuation, with 41% saying they cannot get out in 20 minutes or less. In addition, Saville said, 42% don’t know where to go during an evacuation, and 35% don’t know designated evacuation routes.
The results also indicate a need for neighborhood collaboration. Between 12% and 15% of respondents say someone in their homes has mobility and transportation limitations. Unfortunately, he said, 70% of respondents have never coordinated emergency plans with neighbors, shunning a critical resource in a time of crisis.
One item PREP has stressed in previous community briefings is a “go-bag,” an easily retrievable kit that contains important items that will help one survive the early stages of an evacuation. Early survey results show 23% have a prepared go bag; Saville questioned whether
Third on the list of concerns is an extended power outage. Saville said that would create a critical situation for people who have medical devices that rely on electricity.
Further down the list or mentioned in the write-in area are items such as personal medical emergencies, structure fires, wildlife encounters, carbon monoxide leaks, evacuation route bottlenecks, criminal activity, floods and earthquakes.
Sandoval County Commissioner Katherine Bruch, whose district includes Placitas, said a number of the initiatives PREP is touting are “really low-hanging fruit” that may seem onerous to residents, but won’t require much time and effort, considering the payoff if they are needed. “I do think a lot of us just kind of been collecting those kinds of things, especially paperwork, and they’re easy,” Bruch said. “ I think we just got to get the word out more about what people can do for themselves, and how we can help each other improve some of the access, whether it’s a go-bag or whatever. We can definitely do these things.”
After the main presentation, attendees were divided into small groups based on where they live in Placitas to area-specific emergency concerns.
The survey will remain open through September.
PREP’s next community briefing is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 10 at Placitas Volunteer Fire Department Station No. 41, and will cover fire extinguisher training — Saville encouraged the 35% of survey respondents without functional fire extinguishers to attend.