Jamul, Ramona, and Scripps Ranch are considered some of the worst places to escape a wildfire according to data determined by The Associated Press.
Residents in Jamul could find trouble evacuating because State Route 94, also known as Campo Road, has only one lane in each direction.
“The traffic is terrible, usually it takes me at least 20 minutes to get up the hill and where it used to take me two minutes it's just incredible,” said Jamul Feed and Supply Owner, Jamie La Fortune.
La Fortune worries that busy SR-94 will only lead to disaster when it comes time to evacuate. She says the community is growing and that means more people on the roads.
And Jamul isn't alone when it comes to escape routes that are ranked the worst in our state. Data from CAL Fire, the U.S. Census Bureau, and Open Street Map, found that certain communities with people living in a very high fire risk zone, such as Scripps Ranch and Ramona, only have one major lane of traffic each direction.
This complicates things during emergencies, which is why Cal Fire tells NBC 7 everyone, no matter where you live, should have multiple routes in mind for an evacuation plan.
“The threat is very much a situational one, where is the fire burning in relation to the evacuation route, is it threatening the evacuation route or burning away from the evacuation route,” said Issac Sanchez, Fire Captain from Cal Fire San Diego.
Local
CAL Fire explains they are working with the county and law enforcement for an efficient evacuation plan.
Below is a full list of ZIP codes the analysis identified as being roughly within the worst 1 percent in the state when it comes to population-to-evacuation-route ratios:
Southern California:
90042: Highland Park and Eagle Rock in Los Angeles County
90272: Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles County
90274: Rolling Hills in Los Angeles County
90275: Rancho Palos Verdes in Los Angeles County
91935: Jamul and surrounding areas in San Diego County
92065: Ramona and surrounding areas in San Diego County
92131: Scripps Ranch in San Diego County
91320: From Newbury Park to Dos Vientos Ranch in western Thousand Oaks in Ventura County
91377: Oak Park, an unincorporated community in Ventura County
93021: Moorpark in Ventura County
92548: Homeland and areas northwest of Homeland in Riverside County
92584: Menifee in Riverside County
92314: Big Bear, Minnelusa and Sugarloaf (92386) in San Bernardino County
To read the full report click on the link.
