Emergency Preparedness
Saratoga Beach adheres to the County codes for Health and Safety and further with the Community Bylaws and Standards, whichever is more restrictive. This is done for the good of all to maintain the healthiest environment for all of our residents. Please check with the County Codes if you have any questions in this area.
The Saratoga Beach Disaster Preparedness Committee attempts to understand our community wide risks, develop community wide response plans and educate community members to be prepared to the best of their ability.
Our biggest focus is to be prepared in the event of a major emergency. We ask that you participate in several ways.
Join the Committee for support - share your skills, plan for community wide support and communicate with our neighbors.
- participate in training such as CERT - Certified Emergency Response Team - provided for free at the Bayview Fire Station;
- maintain your family's personal emergency prep plan;
Join the Committee for support - share your skills, plan for community wide support and communicate with our neighbors.
- participate in training such as CERT - Certified Emergency Response Team - provided for free at the Bayview Fire Station;
- maintain your family's personal emergency prep plan;
- build a GO bag for quick exits;
The Emergency Preparedness sub-committee generated a list of essential items for your 3-day survival Go-Bags. Remember, each vehicle should have a Go-Bag. On page 2 you'll find a set of helpful links to aid you in building your Go-Bags.
- and inform the safety committee of those who might need extra assistance or rescue during a catastrophic event such as an earthquake, when County emergency services might not be available.
The detailed article here describes most major threats here in Saratoga Beach -
Quick plan and steps to Prep your own kit for you and your family from Bayview Fire: 2 WEEKS READY
To Join the group or find out more, contact sarbeach@whidbey.com.
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS - SBOA Presentation
BIGGEST THREATS? EARTHQUAKE And FIRE
FIRE
This year brings home the fact of fire danger to all of us. Our neighborhood needs your support to avoid wildfire dangers! Resources are available:
EARTHQUAKES
Did you know that Whidbey Island sits on along a serious fault line – the Cascadia Fault? There are also several smaller fault lines on our island. More importantly, is that research on the Cascadia Fault and earthquakes show that a major earthquake has occurred along this fault line every 300 years. It has been 319 years since the last one. It is important that we be prepared. Predictors say not to think about “IF”, think “WHEN”. The place to start is with a survival kit. The two links we have here are for 72 hours of water, food, and other essentials. This is just a start. The current thought is that you should be ready at home with supplies for 1 month. Think roads unpassable, no deliveries available, and no communication by phone, etc. What will you do?
You also need to know that ALL of our support, supplies, and power on the Island come to us via the Deception Pass bridge (and some by ferry). Please note that even a weaker quake can shut down the bridge until engineers can verify it is safe for traffic. Estimates include 3- 6 weeks before use could be restored, barring that it is totally unusable. Whidbey Island is not a major population center for higher priority assistance.
Please check out the Island County Department of Emergency Management (DEM) Website at:
Department of Emergency Management | Island County, WA or up-to-date information and planning tools – even an AP for that! You can download the free myAlerts app.
Island County Department of Emergency Planning (DEM) now has a mobile phone app that will provide valuable tools for Island County Citizens to prepare for emergencies and disasters. To download go to http://readydl.com/island-county.
The next time disaster strikes, you may not have much time to act. Prepare now for a sudden emergency. Take time as a family to prepare yourselves, the most important plan is YOUR plan.
A first easy step to being prepared is to STORE WATER - storing 2-3 weeks of drinkable water for your family (each member) is suggested. Rotate through your storage to prevent a stale taste. Below is a list of resources that will help assist you in creating a plan and be more prepared for an emergency. Keep in mind that water pipes will break throughout the community. This will quite probably drain the tanks before someone can get to the tanks to shut them down.
Emergency Preparedness Resources
72 Hour Prep Kit - Island County Department of Emergency Management (DEM) Take a GO BAG with you when away from home. Ferries and the Bridge may not be available.
72 Hour Car Evacuation Kit - Island County DEM
SBOA Emergency Preparedness Captains -- Volunteer for your neighborhood!
The goal of our Neighborhood Captains position is to act as a neighborhood representative/resource to disaster preparedness functions, primarily to enhance communication about disaster preparedness, and most especially in the case of an actual disaster or environmental event such as a water system outage. Join a great group of your SBOA neighbors! Find Your District: North SBOA A-D; Center SBOA E- I; South SBOA J-L; Contact us under other with questions or readiness suggestions.
Radio Network for Communication during emergencies
Got a walkie-talkie radio? Join our network check-ins to help ensure communication throughout the community during normal communication outages. Privacy setting 0, channel 4. Every Thursday of the month at 9 am. All Captains are provided with a GMRS radio! Ham radio operator? We need you to connect to the Island support.
Please contact Sue Gibson, Network Coordinator. We have standardized on the Radioddity GMRS or compatible radio. Click here to view a training PowerPoint for the Motorola T600, provided by Doug Whidby from a sister community network.
We encourage members to utilize the free online training for the Certified Emergency Response Team. So far, SBOA has eight members who have completed CERT training. CERT Training offered on Whidbey for 2025.
