SAN JOSE, Calif. – A new emergency notification system was launched in San Jose yesterday, just before the Ranch Place Fire sparked.
That fast-moving brush fire in the East San Jose hills came very close to several homes on Tuesday, as it burned through 92 acres.
“The fire started getting closer and closer, and then they told me, ‘Ok Jesus, it’s time to go,” Jesus Garcia told KTVU.
Garcia lives on Sierra Road. At first, he wasn’t too worried about the smoke he saw in the distance, but that quickly changed.
He was told to evacuate, but his wife has been ill, and she asn’t left home in some time.
“I said, ‘My wife is sick, I cannot go.’ They said, ‘No, you’re going, and your wife.’ They went in, and grabbed my wife and took both my wife and I to the hospital. My wife is kinda sick, I’m ok,” Garcia said. He’s hoping his wife will be released from the hospital on Wednesday.
New application launches hours before fire
What they’re saying:
Just hours before the fire sparked, the city of San Jose implemented a new warning system that can be downloaded right to your phone. It’s a free application called Genasys Protect. The San Jose Fire Department tells KTVU it’s going to be a very helpful new tool.
“We have a lot of notification capabilities but Genasys has just added a new layer as of yesterday morning in the city of San Jose, to really do a targeted notification,” Brad Cloutier, San Jose Fire Department Chief tells KTVU. “So people here would get the notification, but if you live on the west side of San Jose, where you’re not affected, you wouldn’t get a notification on your phone. So we don’t have people getting notification saturation.”
Stephen Sickler is the Vice President of Field Operations for Genasys.
“It’s anonymous, it doesn’t know who you are, it just knows that if your phone is in an area that is designated for an evacuation order or warning or advisory, and it will send you a notice,” Sickler said.
The app can help emergency crews get people out of affected areas more quickly. It’s already been in use in several Bay Area counties including Alameda and Contra Costa.
The app also allows users to choose other locations for alerts, to keep an eye on loved ones.
“If you have a child off at college, a mother in assisted living, you can keep track of their location for them,” Sickler said.
Santa Clara County has more fire safety efforts on the way
What’s next:
The app isn’t the only new fire safety measure in San Jose. The County of Santa Clara recently approved new AI sensors for fire detection, which will be placed in the East San Jose hills:
“We’re actually looking for places to install those all over the east side ridges to find the best location,” Otto Lee, Santa Clara County Supervisor for District 3 told KTVU. “These AI detectors are getting so good that they can tell the difference between a barbecue and bush fire for example,
Garcia was fixing his mailbox Wednesday, while surveying the damage. He says he plans to do some different things with the greenery around his property, to be prepared if there is a next time.
“I got scared, but I’m lucky because I still have my life and my house,” Garcia said.
SJFD is making efforts to reach out to homeowners along the wildland-urban interface area in East San Jose. They are going door to door. If you receive one of these flyers at your home, you are in an area that’s considered higher risk, and SJFD encourages you to take fire prevention steps as soon as possible.
