Towne Road... is it the next Maui?

The road surfacing option that compromises safety

Recently released body cam footage shows police evacuating residents during the Maui wildfires — elderly ushered out of their homes with seconds to spare, entire families unaware that a catastrophe had already been raging for hours, and the utter chaos that characterizes so many emergencies.  At one point, with smoke and flames feet away, an officer arrives at a cluster of cars unable to egress further down a road… footage shows a pickup truck stopped at a closed gate with a growing number of terrified residents trapped behind the blockage created by just one vehicle.

The Commissioners and County leaders continue to grapple with Towne Road’s final surfacing option.  Option 4, which bans public vehicle traffic, shows a wide recreational trail beside a private driveway.  Access to the private driveway would be regulated by a gate to which one landowner, farm workers, and first responders would have a key or code.

A gate that would remain locked for everyone else.

Concerns about evacuation from the tsunami hazard zone north of Sequim-Dungeness/Anderson Road have been expressed since at least 2015 when the County conducted a survey asking residents if they would prefer Towne Road be closed (a vast majority wanted the road to remain open).  Flooding and tsunami evacuation remained prominent concerns in the last round of public surveys conducted this year.  

When emergency egress concerns were voiced at the public meeting on September 26th, someone suggested that it could be unlocked with a key issued to everyone (in other words, those evacuating would need to travel with a gate key).  It was also suggested that people could ram their vehicles through the gate (sound advice when viewing the video of a stopped truck waiting at the gate in Maui).  Online, the idea has been floated that a private landowner could unlock the gate during an emergency allowing evacuees to escape southward (assuming the land owner is nearby when an emergency occurs).

A problematic gate option has already resulted in tragic consequences.  In August, a fire consumed a family’s home on the north end of the Towne Road closure.  The family narrowly escaped and their pets were lost in the blaze.  The firetruck responding from Sequim first took the most direct route — northbound on Towne Road — only to reach a locked gate just past the Creamery.  Precious minutes were lost as the engine detoured five miles to reach the fire.  Fire Chief Orr acknowledged, "the added response time certainly added to the loss for that family."

“Emergency planning” is an oxymoron — catastrophes rarely play out as planned: the sirens don’t sound, text alerts aren’t received, people don’t have their TVs and radios on… a gate is locked.  “Emergency preparedness” is a proven approach — create backup systems for the backup systems, have plans A through D, and when there are only two evacuation routes: pave the road as promised, unlock the gate, and create a third path to safety.

If you haven't already voiced your opinion to the Commissioners directly, please let them know that leaving the road closed, with access regulated by only a few individuals, is not acceptable.  It needs to be a two-way, paved road.  All three County Commissioners can be reached by emailing the Clerk of the Board loni.gores@clallamcountywa.gov.