The devastating fires in Southern California have many people who live in the Bay Area thinking about evacuation plans in the event of a disaster close to home. Elizabeth Stage nearly lost her home in the Oakland Hills fire. She’s been focused on improving evacuation routes in the East Bay hills ever since. “Road infrastructure isn’t sufficient to carry everyone out quickly,” she said. Stage has worked tirelessly to push for improvements. Watching the devastation in Southern California this week has been even more of a wake-up call. “Those of us who were here know it can happen here,” she said. “More than half the people who live here now were not here then.” Michael Hunt with the Oakland Fire Department said the city has made a lot of changes since 1991. Evacuation warnings and routes are now pushed out digitally through the county’s AC Alert system. When there’s a fire, the system kicks in. “We begin identifying areas that are likely going to need to be evacuated,” he said. “Incident commanders begin identifying which neighborhoods and which blocks needs to be notified. Then AC Alerts go out, identifying which zones should be evacuated.” wildfires Jan 9 Entire LA County receives evacuation alert by mistake california wildfires 8 hours ago Second LA County evacuation alert sent in error to phones in overnight hours The city also now inspects more than 27,000 properties a year to ensure residents maintain a safe clearance. Goat herds are also used to clear 1,300 acres of public land. Newly-passed Measure MM will soon give the city funds to help expand roadside clearing and increase public education. “If there is anything that we here in Northern California take from what’s going down in LA, it is to be prepared,” Oakland resident Tiffany Rose said. Rose recently received an evacuation order through the AC Alert system during the Keller Fire. With so many recent scares, she’s now more prepared than ever. “Have the go-bag, have the plan, have the cash, have all those things in place,” she said. Stage said though the city has made progress, a lot more needs to be done to improve evacuation routes. She’s reminding neighbors to do their part by practicing escape routes and being ready. “Turn your car around so that it’s facing the street,” she said. “Please leave when they issue the warning.”