Andorra Way Emergency Vehicle Access

Thank you to all the residents who joined us to learn more about the Andorra Emergency Vehicle Access. For those who weren’t able to attend, below is a summary of the information shared.

More than 125 neighbors from northeast Rancho Peñasquitos and Camino Bernardo turned out this past Saturday morning, April 11, 2026, for the Meet & Greet at the Emergency Vehicle Access (EVA) road at the north end of Andorra Way. This event, presented by PQ-NE Action Group and the Rancho Peñasquitos Fire Safe Council, allowed residents to meet with our local District 5 Councilmember Marni von Wilpert and members of her staff, along with representatives from the San Diego Police and Fire-Rescue Departments. There were 15 public officials taking part in this important and informative community effort.

The event included remarks from Councilmember von Wilpert, who championed the idea of improving the EVA in 2021. Through PQ-NE Action Group’s advocacy, with funds dedicated to this specific community safety project, the Andorra Way EVA is now a fully code-compliant, two-way emergency vehicle access. In the event of a mandated evacuation, residents can use the EVA to reach safety while still allowing emergency vehicles and first responders to access the area.

Corissa Edwards, Acting Captain of the San Diego Police Northeastern Division, added her expertise and perspective to this community gathering, emphasizing that the San Diego Police and Fire-Rescue Departments will always work together to help us safely evacuate. Captain Edwards and other officers answered questions from neighbors, instilling confidence and a better understanding of the Police Department’s role during a wildfire, including how they notify residents of evacuations. The department now has HI-LO sirens with a unique sound (https://www.instagram.com/reel/DIAJArxSxx3/) that will warn residents they need to evacuate immediately.

Captain Edwards also emphasized that the San Diego Police Department is always striving to improve their capabilities and is actively working on obtaining a key to the knox box (secure, mounted safe on the radio-controlled gate that holds keys for first responders) that would allow them to access and control the EVA’s gates, along with Fire-Rescue personnel.

San Diego Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Babler then spoke to the gathered residents. His comments emphasized the importance of having an emergency evacuation plan that followed the PACE model; stressing that you should have a Primary plan, Alternate plan, Contingency plan and an Emergency plan. His comments also included an overview of the process for establishing a unified command when responding to a wildfire, allowing for critical coordination between the Police and Fire-Rescue Departments, and ordering potential evacuations. He stressed that residents of northeast PQ should consider evacuating early due to the challenging limitations on traffic flow in our area, ultimately ensuring that you trust your instincts.

Both Chief Babler and Captain Edwards want to ensure that all members of our community are aware of three important mobile applications every resident should download and use:

1. Watch Duty - A free app that helps residents track wildfires and nearby fire activity in real-time. It can greatly improve your awareness and assist in evacuation decisions.  https://www.watchduty.org/

2. GenasysProtect - An official free app used by the local officials/government that informs residents of their official evacuation zone, the status of that zone, and live evacuation information, road closures, shelter information and emergency notifications. https://protect.genasys.com/download

3. Get It Done - A free app used by the city of San Diego for non-emergency reporting of neighborhood issues such as homeless encampments, overgrown brush, and lots of other issues on city property.  

4. https://www.sandiego.gov/get-it-done

This Meet & Greet event was a critical first step in improving our community’s ability to be prepared in the event of a wildfire or other emergency. Everyone is encouraged to share information and resources with their neighbors so we can all be ready. We challenge you help advocate for neighborhood safety through groups like PQ-NE Action Group, the PQ Fire Safe Council and the officials at the Meet & Greet.

We plan to have more community coffees covering a variety of safety events, so please subscribe to the PQ-NE Action Group email alert list. Here is the link: http://eepurl.com/gYt0RX.