Over 300 Ashlanders took part in the emergency exercise; a key part was use of the North Mountain Avenue Escape Ramp
By Kelly Burns
This column was adapted from the city’s executive summary of the Oct. 11 Ashland Emergency Evacuation Drill.
On Oct. 11, the city of Ashland conducted a full-scale Community Wildfire Evacuation Drill, engaging more than 300 residents, local agencies and partner organizations in a coordinated evacuation exercise.
The event was one of only a handful of communitywide wildfire evacuation drills ever conducted in the United States, demonstrating Ashland’s continued leadership and innovation in community wildfire preparedness. The drill provided an opportunity for residents to practice their evacuation plans and actions, test communication systems and experience real-world evacuation conditions in a safe and managed environment.
Primary objectives were to test Ashland’s emergency notification systems and to measure community participation, response times and traffic impacts. Objectives also included evaluating interagency coordination between Ashland Police, Oregon Department of Transportation, Ashland Emergency Management, the Ashland Street Department and Ashland Fire & Rescue.
Initial results indicated many participants took longer than expected to prepare to leave their homes, about 30 minutes in some cases.
The high number of participants indicates strong community engagement and a clear interest in continued preparedness activities.
Feedback from participants and responders highlighted the importance of preparing ahead of time, anticipating high-traffic volumes and therefore delays in some areas. Feedback also underlined the success and utility of opening the North Mountain Escape Ramp. The outcomes of the drill will inform updates to Ashland’s evacuation plans, public outreach strategies and emergency communication systems. That will further the city’s goal of becoming a model for wildfire readiness and community resilience.
Key achievements
- Test of Everbridge/Nixle system: Over 95% of participants received drill text message or email.
- Messages, surveys and instructions were translated into Spanish (one registered) and Ukrainian (five registered) languages for non-English speakers within our community.
- The North Mountain Avenue Escape Ramp onto Interstate 5 was utilized for the drill. That involved cross-training with the Oregon Department of Transportation and the Ashland Streets Department.
- Evacuation traffic impacts and data collected: 12 locations throughout the city, with data being compiled as of this report (over 100 vehicles used the North Mountain Escape Ramp)
- Pre-drill (total 172) and post-drill (total 148) evacuation surveys were collected from participants, and data was being compiled as of this report.
- Over 300 participants gained practice and experience to test their evacuation plans.
- 179 vehicles, 3 bicycles, 2 walkers and over 80 family pets were received at the airport.
- The drill was a true achievement of regional cooperation between local, state, federal, public and private partners. (Canada and the United Kingdom were represented among the more than 16 agencies).
Financial impact
Cost to the city included overtime pay for additional personnel hired during the drill event and cost for signs advertising the event. All other expenses were covered by staff and volunteer time.
Conclusion
The Ashland Evacuation Drill was a testament to the dedication and hard work of a city committed to preparing for the very real possibility of mass evacuations.
The drill was one of only a handful that have occurred in the United States. The Ashland drill specifically had a high number of participants and a rare level of cooperation among agencies, both public and private.
Looking ahead, the city’s emergency management is committed to further enhancing our response capabilities and expanding our community preparedness. Following this drill, focus will be on leveraging data analytics gathered from the drill to drive further improvements in our local and regional preparation, response and mitigation needs.
A detailed analysis of the data to be published in 2026 will help inform local and regional decision-makers and the community to anticipate needs and actions to take during wildfire evacuations.
The city of Ashland emergency management coordinator wishes to acknowledge the support of all our stakeholders and looks forward to continuing the journey of fostering a disaster ready and resilient Ashland.
List of local, regional, and partnering agencies and volunteers for Ashland’s evacuation drill
- City of Ashland Emergency Management
- Ashland Police Department
- City of Ashland Streets Department
- Oregon Department of Transportation
- City of Ashland Geographic Information System
- Oregon Department of Human Services/OREM
- Ashland CERT
- Ashland Fire & Rescue
- Ashland Parks & Recreation
- Boise State University
- Oregon State University
- Broadbent & Associates Inc.
- GHD Engineering International
- University of Greenwich (U.K.)
- National Research Council (Canada)
- City of Ashland Public Works
- Southern Oregon Transportation Engineering
- Jackson County Emergency Management
- Southern Oregon University
- Deployed Logix (Eugene, Oregon)
- University of Utah
Kelly Burns is the emergency management coordinator for the city of Ashland.
