During the Moon Mountain Fire (July 3-5, 2023) some of our neighbors received (with very little advance notice) Level 3 evacuation alerts, which means “Go now.”

Throughout the fire, which grew to ~35 acres, our neighbors in Zone 32 were under Evacuation Alert Level 1, which means “Get Ready.” Level 1 means prepare a go-bag with supplies for a few days, including medications and/or pet foods, and prepare to evacuate your home.

Zone 32 is just north of Zone 31, which covers half of our Southeast neighborhood. Zone 31 extends from East Amazon to the east city boundary. The other evacuation zone for SEN, which covers from West Amazon to Willamette, is named Zone 25.

The fire showed how quickly hazardous conditions can develop during fire season, and underscores the need to prepare as individuals, families, and as a community.

The “Ready Southeast” emergency preparedness committee expresses its appreciation to Eugene Springfield Fire for its rapid response as the area was facing a red flag warning.  Without these mitigation efforts, the metro area could have experienced an urban conflagration.  Officials also said previous fuel thinning projects helped firefighters control the fire.  We thank all the area fire departments and ODF that provided aid, and to Eugene area neighborhood public information officers Thia Bell and Randy Prince, who shared the latest updates on Facebook around the clock.  Your neighborhood association can share information about how to sign up for alerts and to know your zone, and how to reduce wildfire risk around your home.

During June 2023, Southeast Ready worked with the city to obtain large-format maps that can be used during planning and during the incident. Two maps—one all-neighborhood map and one block captain area map—will be placed in each of the cached lockboxes staged throughout the neighborhood.

No Second Sunday at 7 radio exercises will be held in July and August. Based on previous exercises, some block captain area boundaries are being adjusted to improve handheld radio communications. Some areas were consolidated to acknowledge the limited number of volunteers in those areas and to balance population across areas, and this new information will appear on the laminated maps.The coordination team will start planning for a fall field exercise. It will involve convening at the lockboxes, retrieving the new large-format maps, and then exchanging radio messages reporting on simulated blocked or impassable transportation routes. The teams will mark the blocked roads on the large-format maps, to be able to share the latest information with emergency personnel.

To learn more about Ready SE, email David Monk at dmonk@efn.org or visit the Ready Southeast website, https://www.southeastneighbors.org/get-involved/ready-southeast/