RANCHO MURIETA, CA (MPG) - The Sacramento County Department of Transportation is inviting Rancho Murieta residents to complete an online survey as part of a planning effort to improve evacuation routes and emergency access along Jackson Highway during wildfires and floods.

Travis Shappell, a consulting team member, is conducting the survey for the transportation department, which is developing a Rancho Murieta Resilience Plan. Shappell said the goal of the survey is to gauge how well the community is prepared for the risks and hazards associated with extreme weather events.

In addition to the initial survey, the project will include a series of in-person community work sessions. Residents who want to stay informed can provide their email address through the survey and should also watch for future announcements, Shappell said.

Access the survey at https://shorturl.at/URuCD or by scanning the QR code.

The transportation study was launched following behind-the-scenes advocacy by three representatives of the Rancho Murieta Regional Fire Safe Council. They received strong support from former Sacramento County Supervisor Sue Frost after the 2023 flooding.

As a result, the transportation department secured a $400,000 Caltrans Sustainable Communities Grant last summer to study ways to improve evacuation and emergency access along Jackson Highway.

Since then, the agency has hired a team of consultants to conduct the study. It includes Sherwood Design Engineers, DKS Associates, Wildland Resource Management and Shappell’s firm, Resilient Communities.

“Our scope is community engagement, which includes this survey, key partner interviews and public community work sessions,” Shappell said.

Although problems with Jackson Highway’s infrastructure had long been on the Fire Safe Council’s radar, members gained little traction until flooding from the 2023 storm isolated Rancho Murieta, drawing national attention to the region.

The study “will undertake a comprehensive study of wind-driven fire and flooding risks on the highway with a specific focus on six critical intersections between Grant Line Road and Ione Road in Sacramento County and flooding in the Sloughhouse area,” according to the grant application.

The application also noted that the consultant hired by the transportation department would identify infrastructure improvements and develop a funding and implementation plan to meet Caltrans requirements for highway improvement funding.

The Fire Safe Council representatives who worked with Frost to pursue outside funding for highway improvements were Greg Pryor, John Merchant and John Long. Within the community, they are often referred to as the “Three Amigos.”

Pryor, a retired firefighter, serves as president of the Fire Safe Council. Merchant, a retired businessman, is currently president of the Rancho Murieta Community Services District Board.

Long, a retired traffic engineer with 46 years of experience, previously served on the Rancho Murieta Association’s Emergency Preparedness Committee, which led to the creation of the Fire Safe Council. He has continued to serve as an advisor to the council since then.

The county has asked Long to serve as an unpaid advisor for the study, which he expects will take at least two years, though he is hopeful for a shorter timeline.