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River Valley Times

RMA Urged to Automate Escuela Gate for Escape

Dec 19, 2024 06:14PM ● By Gail Bullen River Valley Times Reporter

Greg Pryor, president of the Rancho Murieta Regional Fire Safe Council, seeks Rancho Murieta Association approval to automate Escuela Gate for use in an emergency. He spoke at the Dec. 10 board meeting. File photo by Gail Bullen

RMA Urged to Automate Escuela Gate for Escape [2 Images] Click Any Image To Expand
RANCHO MURIETA, CA (MPG) - A long-standing disagreement over automating remote gates for emergency evacuations was brought to the Rancho Murieta Association Board on Dec. 10. 
The issue surfaced during the public comments portion of the meeting, which allows members to address the board directly on topics not listed on the agenda. As a general practice, the RMA Board does not respond to public comments, except in limited circumstances.
Greg Pryor, president of the Rancho Murieta Regional Fire Council, began the public comment by reading a two-page letter outlining the case for automating the Escuela Gate to enable its use during emergency evacuations. Two additional members of the Fire Safe Council, along with three other residents, strongly supported the gate automation.
The Fire Safe Council has long advocated the automation of the Escuela Gate on the north side and the Bent Grass Court gates on the south, allowing them to be opened alongside the two main gates during an emergency evacuation. Under the council’s proposal, the incident commander or their designee would use a cell phone to unlock the gates with a code stored at the interagency fire dispatch center. 
The remote gates are currently secured with Knox Locks, which police and fire personnel can open using a key.
As expressed at recent meetings by RMA General Manager Rod Hart and Director Patrick O’Hern, the RMA position is that the gates should only be opened once a fire responder is on the scene to direct traffic. Both have emphasized that the health and safety of the community are their top priorities. They have warned that opening the emergency gates before a first responder’s arrival could lead to chaos, mainly if a resident crashes while exiting onto the roadway.
The Fire Safe Council has long advocated for automating both the Escuela Gate and the Bent Grass Court gates. However, the letter Greg Pryor read to the RMA Board on Dec. 10 focused exclusively on the Escuela Gate. When asked by the River Valley Times why the Bent Grass gates were not included, Pryor explained that the Fire Safe Council intends to seek assistance from the Rancho Murieta Community Services District (CSD) for automating those gates, as they are located on CSD property. 
Pryor letter
In his letter, Pryor highlighted the community’s vulnerability during catastrophic events, such as large-scale fires or floods. He noted that traffic experts estimate it would take 1.5 to 2 hours to evacuate through the main gates under normal conditions.
“Fire experts concur that under average red flag wind conditions, a wildfire, once it entered the community, could spread through the community in between half an hour and an hour,” his letter said.
In a crisis, a first responder could be delayed in reaching Escuela Gate with a physical key because of other pressing demands or personnel shortages. “The current situation of having only one open gate per community imposes an unnecessary and dangerous threat to all residents,” his letter said. “An inability to timely evacuate could result in serious injury or death to residents or others.”
Automating the Escuela Gate would help minimize or eliminate evacuation delays caused by waiting for a fire responder to arrive, though responders would reach the scene as quickly as possible. Pryor’s letter cautioned that neglecting to address evacuation preparedness could jeopardize the community’s FireWise designation.
He also noted that the gate automation proposal has been reviewed and supported by several agencies, including the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, the Sacramento County Office of Emergency Services, the County Department of Transportation, Caltrans, and county counsel.
“Not a single agency voiced opposition or identified barriers to gate automation for use during the event of an emergency,” his letter said. “It is baffling that the only known opposition to automating the Escuela gate comes from the RMA Board.”
Pryor’s letter concluded by emphasizing the RMA Board’s responsibility to act in the best interests of the homeowners, urging them to take immediate action to automate the gates.
Other comments
Resident Patrick Salo urged the board to recall the traffic backups at the gates during past July 4 holidays. He expressed concern that failing to automate the Escuela Gate in an emergency could leave residents trapped. “It’s going to be on your hands if there are casualties and people die,” he said.
John Long, a retired traffic engineer with 45 years of experience, responded to an RMA claim that opening the Escuela Gate before the arrival of a first responder would create chaos. Long acknowledged the concern and consulted with engineers from Caltrans and the Sacramento County Department of Transportation. “We agreed that placing a stop sign outside the gate would be the same as Lone Pine or Stonehouse, which have stop signs,” he explained. “If you have an emergency, there’s not going to be a first responder there directing traffic.”
Long foresees chaos resulting from backups on Murieta Parkway, which could stretch up to a mile and a half if the main gate remains the sole exit during an evacuation.
The most poignant comment came from Rancho Murieta resident Sharon McGowan, who lived in Paradise during the Camp Fire. The blaze forced her to evacuate, leaving her home in ruins. “Do any of you want to be responsible for people burning up in their cars because they can’t get out,” she asked the board. “So, please reconsider your decision.”
Resident Marjie Salo told the board that she, too, was concerned about having only one way out on each side of the community.
The final speaker was Rob Schultz, an IT specialist who wrote the grant application for the $4.3 million Cal Fire Grant for wildfire fuel reduction that is currently underway. Schultz began by thanking the RMA Council for their service, saying it was a thankless job. 
Schultz urged the board to vote on the gate automation issue, pointing out that previous RMA directors had approved funding for the gates, but something changed afterward. He highlighted a critical problem with keeping a gate locked until a first responder arrives: while Station 59 firefighters are familiar with the gate, they will likely be occupied fighting the fire. Meanwhile, firefighters coming from outside the area “may or may not know there is a gate around the corner behind the bushes with a bunch of people behind it.”
Schultz pointed out that there is precedent for automating gates. While the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District does not have fire codes specifically addressing emergency evacuations, other jurisdictions do.
He referenced an ordinance from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department that outlines requirements for gates in gated communities: “They shall be electrically operated, have battery backup, and may be of the swing, lift, or sliding type. Manual gates are not allowed for roadways or gated communities.”
In closing, Schultz reiterated his request for the board to vote on the gate automation issue and proposed surveying the membership for their input.
Although the board rarely responds during public comments, President Scott Adams clarified that the board had never voted to automate the gates.
Pryor countered, stating that he had attended a meeting where gate automation was an agenda item and that the board had approved funding. He added that the River Valley Times had recorded the meeting and urged Adams to review the minutes.
Adams replied that he would check the minutes and emphasized that he was offering a point of clarification.