Protect RSF Residents in Wildfire Evacuation

Author: Holly Manion

Date: August 24, 2022

The RSF Association (RSFA) recently completed a “Member Satisfaction and Priorities Survey” to identify community priorities for Board attention.  “Efforts to Prevent and Mitigate the Threat of Community Wildfires” was rated Most Important by our residents in a list of 16 RSF Services/Features on the survey. A whopping 92% of residents rated this item as Extremely (70%) or Very Important (22%), emphasizing their desire for our Board to prioritize wildfire safety.

One clear threat to RSF is a Santa-Ana driven wildfire racing down Escondido Creek near our northwestern border with Olivenhain. Recognizing this danger, RSFA strongly opposed the Goodson Project, a massive 250-unit apartment complex recently approved by the Encinitas City Council at the intersection of RSF Road and Encinitas Boulevard. Adding a high-density development in a wildfire-prone area with limited evacuation egress promises chaos and likely disaster during wildfire evacuations. RSF roads to Encinitas Boulevard via La Bajada, El Mirlo, La Noria, Via de Fortuna, and El Camino del Norte are already severely congested during rush hours and school drop-off/pick-up times.

Two fire studies predicted a fast-moving, Escondido Creek wildfire could reach the RSF Road-Encinitas Boulevard intersection 1 hour after ignition. Under this scenario, one expert concluded there is “a strong possibility that a large number of residents will receive severe injuries, up to and including death, from fire entrapments on evacuation routes impacted by the (Goodson) Project’s increased vehicle load on egress roadways…” Moreover, this finding failed to account for hundreds of residents from RSF and nearby communities, many with horse trailers, attempting to share Encinitas evacuation routes. Also missing was how to evacuate 2,000 students at 6 schools in the evacuation area, all without buses.

A volunteer group, Encinitas Residents for Responsible Development (ERRD), is launching an amended lawsuit against the City of Encinitas to stop the Goodson project. Residents of Olivenhain’s small rural community raised $150,000 to fight the project in past years, but these funds have been depleted.

We urge the RSFA Board to commit substantial PAC funds to ERRD’s important lawsuit. Covenant residents have spoken, asking our Board to mitigate wildfire risks and prioritize safe evacuation.

Litigation is expensive. We should not expect ERRD to bear the full burden of fighting to protect RSF residents, horses, and pets. ERRD expects this lawsuit to be strong because of its focus on adverse impacts of the Goodson project on public safety.

Time is of the essence. ERRD must file its lawsuit by September 2nd. Please take a few minutes to ask the RSFA Board to support this lawsuit with a sizeable PAC donation at memberinput@rsfassociation.org. This small effort could save the lives of loved ones, friends, and their animals when the next wildfire threatens our community.

Holly Manion

Concerned Citizens of Rancho Santa Fe