Disaster Preparedness

Emergency Phone Numbers

• To Report Any Emergency: 911
• Emergency Call to Sheriff / Fire Department: 911
• To Report an Emergency Happening in Town When You're Out of Town: 408-299-3233
• To Report a Non-Emergency to Sheriff - 408-299-2311
• For down trees and sewer overflows/backup, call Town Hall at 650-941-7222 (during office hours). AFTER office hours, please contact Santa Clara County Communications at 408-299-3233 or Citizen Portal (iworq.net)

Staff members at Town Hall hold many responsibilities. Alongside fulfilling the day-to-day operations of Town governance, the employees of the Town are also sworn Disaster Service Workers who have taken an oath to serve and protect the residents of the Town in the event of an emergency. Whether it be an earthquake, wildfire or a flood, the public servants of the Town have made a commitment to report to the EOC (Emergency Operations Center) to help manage an emergency event.

At the beginning of the year, the Town Council set a priority for the Town to spend staff time advancing the Town’s emergency preparedness efforts. This included putting an emphasis on training all staff members in their required FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) courses and conducting an emergency table-top drill.

Town staff have spent time throughout the year to meet these Council goals. During this time, the Town onboarded a new Emergency Management Consultant, Ann Hepenstal, and held multiple training sessions on the roles and responsibilities that are separated into the five sections of an EOC: Management, Logistics, Operations, Planning, and Finance.

On October 24, 2022, Town Hall staff reported to the Council Chambers to participate in the emergency drill, and were faced with an imaginary scenario that a wildfire had broken out in Los Altos Hills and was quickly spreading. Staff worked through the event conducting emergency communications, reviewing evacuation routes and worked with outside agencies to coordinate a unified response.

The October drill was the first of many ongoing drills that the Town will conduct to reaffirm staff’s commitment of responding efficiently during an emergency. A larger tabletop drill involving more stakeholders in Los Altos Hills such as schools, monasteries and other emergency response organizations will be held in February 2023.