6.4 Transportation Impacts
There are three main evacuation routes out of Big Bear Valley; one to the west, which was closed, and two that are north and south of the valley. There was concern regarding the loss of the remaining roads as evacuation routes and with possible accidents that would slow the progress of evacuees. The emergency community looked into the possibility of staging resources along the evacuation route to push vehicles off the roadway if necessary.
The roadways in the valley did not allow for a quick evacuation. However, there were no incidents on the road; people were patient, and there were no recorded instances of flared tempers. People made the best of the situation.
Now, based on experience, the local emergency management community has an estimated time to evacuate the valley, in case this needs to happen again.
February 6, 2006
Publication #FHWA-HOP-08-014
