10 (295)You don't often get email from jrb4772@outlook.com. Learn why this is important
Date:3/3/2026 11:53:28 AM
From:"Robert Berry" jrb4772@outlook.com
To:"Public Comment" publiccomment@anaheim.net
Subject:[EXTERNAL] Wildfire Evacuation Capacity and Proposed Anaheim Hills De ve lopme nt
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Dear Members of the Ana heim C ity C ouncil,
I am s ubmitting this mes s a g e regarding the propos ed 445-unit apartment development in Ana hei m Hi l l s . My c oncern centers on
emerg ency preparednes s a nd evacua tion ca pa city in a high fire-ris k area .
Ma ny of us who live here remember O ctober 2017 a ll too well. Canyon Fire 2 ig nited during s trong Santa Ana wi nd conditi ons on
O ctober 8–9 and s pread ra pidly over s evera l da ys . Thous ands of acres burned. More tha n 16,000 res idents were ordered to evac ua te.
Homes were los t or damaged. For thos e of us navig a ting the evacua tion routes a t tha t time, the experi ence wa s deeply uns ettling .
Tra ffic cong es tion during tha t event wa s s ig nifica nt. R eports indica ted tha t s ome res idents requi red up to three hours to leave the area .
Ana heim Hills is s erved by a limited number of prima ry exit routes , and under wind-driven wi l dfire conditi ons , thos e routes qui ckl y
become s trained.
Introducing a development of 445 res identia l units would likely add clos e to 1,000 vehi cles to the s ame c ons trained roa d network. In a
future wildfire emerg ency, that increa s e could ma teria lly impact clea rance times . Evacua ti on pl a nni ng mus t a cc ount not onl y for
current res idents but a ls o for the cumulative effect of a dditional dens ity.
Pleas e be mindful tha t a prior propos al of s imilar s ca le in this vicinity received C ouncil a pprova l but ulti ma tely di d not move forward
beca us e the Fire C hief declined to a uthorize it due to s afety concerns . Tha t his tory s ug g es ts that wildfi re eva cuati on capac i ty ha s
alrea dy been identified as a s erious is s ue.
The trag edy in Pa radis e, C alifornia demons tra ted the devas tating cons equences that ca n occ ur when evac ua tion routes a re
overwhelmed during extreme fire beha vior. While no two communities are identica l, Ana hei m Hi l l s s ha res chara cteris tic s tha t demand
ca reful, evidence-bas ed pla nning .
I res pectfully as k tha t the C ouncil does not a pprove this project. The s a fety of res idents — both current a nd future — mus t rema i n the
foremos t cons idera tion.
Thank you for your time a nd s ervice to our community.
Sincerely,
Ma rilyn Berry
Ana heim Hills R es ident