Wildfire FAQs
From the City
The following questions and answers are specific to the City of Petaluma regarding wildfire emergency response and prevention.
How Do I Evacuate Safely?
Visit our Emergency Evacuations webpage to learn more about what to do in the case of an evacuation order.
How do I donate or volunteer during a wildfire or other emergency?
The City works with Petaluma People Services Center to coordinate donations and volunteers during a wildfire or other emergency.
PPSC is a trusted partner in our community. It has good working relationships with other nonprofits, including faith based organizations, that serve our community.
For information about how to donate/volunteer, please contact PPSC at (707) 765-8488 or petalumapeople.org.
How will I know if I need to evacuate?
If an alert or warning needs to be issued for a potential threat to the City of Petaluma, community members can receive these messages by subscribing to Nixle or SoCo Alerts. As part of our emergency management and preparedness, the City of Petaluma provides this alert and warning service free to our community. To subscribe to Nixle text your Zip code to 888777. We encourage all of our community members to also sign up for SoCo Alerts if you have not already done so.
Like the County of Sonoma, the City of Petaluma also has the ability to activate the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system for situations that present an imminent threat to life or property. This notification does not require subscription and is typically received through a wireless device like a mobile phone or tablet. You may have already seen this type of alert before as it commonly used for AMBER alerts.
For more info and access to the evacuation map, go to our Evacuations Page.
Is my house in a high fire hazard zone?
To find out whether your residence or business is located in a high fire hazard zone, review the City’s High Fire Hazard Severity Zone map.
How do I make a weed abatement complaint?
Fill out and submit the Weed Abatement Complaint form online, download the paper form then submit to the Fire Prevention Bureau in person or by mail (22 Basset Street), or via email to [email protected].
Additional Resources
Since 2017 the Disaster Relief Team at Legal Aid of Sonoma County has helped those impacted by wildfires successfully navigate the difficult process of recovery. Through these efforts they have learned the importance of creating and sharing informational materials to empower survivors to be able to utilize available resources and take their first steps towards recovery. For this reason, they have created a series of FAQs shared here: