Prepare with A.D.A.P.T.

We’re committed to improving emergency preparedness in Atherton, one household and one neighborhood at a time.

A little preparation and participation will yield big results in keeping you and your family safe in a disaster.

Preparing Your Household

In the event of a disaster (e.g., an earthquake), the Town of Atherton is strongly advising our approximately 7,200 residents to be prepared for at least 7 days. During this time, we are not likely to have much support from responders or access to emergency and hospital services, gas or electricity, fresh water or food, or passable roads (due to fallen trees).

 

In other words, we need to be ready to be fully self-sufficient for at least a week.

There are three basic steps to take for your household to be emergency-ready. These steps are summarized in A.D.A.P.T.’s Get Ready in 3 Steps booklet.

 

Knowing Your Neighborhood

 

In the event of a major disaster, particularly in Atherton, your neighbors will likely be the first people you see. This is because the police or fire department will not be able to respond to every home right away.

A.D.A.P.T.’s neighborhood groups help residents get connected to each other and to vital emergency response resources. Each group has an Area Coordinator who lives in the area and acts as the main point of contact. Use the address lookup on our home page to Find Your Area, connect with your representative, and locate your nearest Emergency Assembly Point. Or, if you already know your Area number, please see the Area Coordinator list.

 

Staying Informed

A.D.A.P.T. hosts monthly community meetings for all residents and neighbors. Join us! You’ll hear local updates and other essential information about emergency preparedness and response in Atherton. Meetings are free and open to all residents and neighbors - we’ll send you the Zoom instructions when you sign up to Attend a Meeting.

Our Handbook

All residents are also encouraged to read the Atherton Emergency Preparation Handbook. Printed handbooks are located at the front desk at the Town office. This guide was produced by A.D.A.P.T. to help Atherton residents with emergency preparedness and response.

SMC Alerts

Finally, please sign up for emergency notifications via SMC Alert if you haven’t already. San Mateo County uses this system to send high-priority, location-based alerts via email, phone, and text.

ZoneHaven

Zonehaven is a website that gives you the latest information regarding abnormal situations through most of California. An app is also available for your mobile device.

Power Outages

  • We might see power outages again. Many Atherton residents were without power for several days for the last storm; make sure you are prepared. Do you need new batteries for your lanterns and flashlights? Fresh candles? Gas for your generator? Have you charged your EV, phone battery packs, etc.? Do you have nonperishable food? Don’t forget to plan for your pet’s needs as well.

  • Secure loose outdoor items such as patio furniture and decorations that could be blown away by strong winds. Make sure your sump pumps and other water detention systems are ready to go.

  • Sandbags are available at the self-service sandbag station at Holbrook Palmer Park. To learn more about proper sandbag placement, visit the Town's Emergency Preparedness resource page at https://www.ci.atherton.ca.us/653/Winter-Storm-Preparedness

  • Plan in advance to assist your neighbors or have them help you in an emergency. 
     

Food Safety During a Power Outage

Storm and Wind Events

STAY INFORMED

 OPERATING GATES & GARAGES DURING POWER OUTAGES

Do you know how to enter/exit your home if the power is out? During the last power outage, Atherton PD received numerous calls needing help manually opening garages and gates. Now is the time to learn how to operate your gate or garage door during a power outage. You can find user guides online and many brand-specific video tutorials on YouTube. Make sure you can easily access your gate/garage keys! 

YouTube Video: How to Open a Garage Door Manually (When Power is Out)

 IF A TREE FALLS & BLOCKS A ROAD

If there is a downed tree blocking a local roadway, call 911 so that emergency personnel can be notified of the road blockage when responding to other emergencies. Town or county agencies will come on-site to safely remove the tree so that traffic can continue on the street. You can contact Atherton Public Works to report a tree blocking a street by calling 650-752-0541. 

 IF A TREE FALLS ON YOUR HOUSE

  1. Make sure everyone inside is safe. If you smell smoke: evacuate and alert your neighbors to do the same. Call 911.

  2. Check to see if the tree also took down electrical power lines. Power outage and flickering power are both signs of power line damage. If you suspect a power line is downed, first call 911. Then, report the downed line to PG&E at 1-800-743-5000. For more information on downed power lines: visit PG&E’s Downed Power Line page. NEVER touch a downed power line (with your body, object or car).

  3. Do not shut off the gas unless you smell gas, hear gas escaping, see a broken gas line or suspect a gas leak. If you shut off the gas, there may be a considerable delay before PG&E can turn your service back on. PG&E Gas Safety Tips can be found here, including instructions on how to turn off your gas valve.

  4. Call a reputable contractor to tarp or board up broken windows and roof/siding damage to your home. It’s best to leave roof-tarping to the pros, as parts of the roof may not be stable to walk on safely.

  5. As soon as immediate danger has passed, take photos and/or videos of the damage for homeowners insurance claims. Additional insurance/repair tips can be found here: www.bobvila.com/articles/tree-falls-on-house/

Portable Generators

This is a brief overview where I will discuss my own experiences with owning and maintaining a portable inverter/generator.  Consumer Reports has several articles on the subject and reviews of generators and inverter/generators; it is available at the new Atherton library.  https://www.consumerreports.org/search/?query=portable generators. 

This article will not discuss permanently installed backup power sources.  Please note that solar panels without a backup battery will not provide electricity to your house during a power outage; this restriction is a safety precaution so that your home’s excess solar power is not transmitted back to PG&E while crews are working on the lines.

First, let’s discuss generators vs. inverter/generators.  Generators need to operate at full power to maintain the necessary cycles per second for household electrical circuits 120v/60cps which consumes more fuel and produces more noise.  Inverter/generators adjust power based on the load required so during the recent power outage our inverter/generator was at low power overnight and one tank (1.5 gal.) of fuel lasted over 8 hours.  During daylight hours when we used more energy it cycled to a higher power as needed and used more fuel. For simplicity I will refer to both types of units as generators. 

How do I power items in my house? 

You can have an electrician install a switching panel to disconnect PG&E power from your house and enable you to connect your generator.  When a power outage occurs you will need to turn off certain high draw items on your circuit breaker panel, connect your portable generator to the newly installed panel and then flip the switch from PG&E to portable power.

If you do not have this switching panel, then you will need a lot of heavy-duty extension cords (12 and 14 gauge).  We have a main refrigerator, an apartment refrigerator and a freezer in our garage; we also have a small electric heater.   I put our generator in the backyard and ran an extension cord through a partially opened window to each of these appliances.  We have 5-6 extension cords that total 150 feet.  We have gas water heaters, range top and fireplaces so no electricity was required for normal operation. My goal in having the generator is to preserve perishable food, provide some amount of lighting, and recharging small battery packs and phones.  We have enough blankets and clothes to stay warm as it doesn’t get that cold in the bay area.

In order to have a generator you need fuel so we keep 10 gallons of gasoline in two containers in our yard away from the house; I also have a siphon in case 10 gallons is not enough.  Gasoline has a shelf life so I add a fuel preservative and change it every 12 months by pouring the gas into our car and then refilling the gas cans.  We store the generator in a shed with the gas tank empty to prevent clogging of the fuel orifices. Generators can also be powered by propane or natural gas. Propane is safer to store and lasts indefinitely.