Neighbors Uneasy with Evacuation Plan for Growing Plumas Lake Development

PLUMAS LAKE (CBS13) - People who live in a Plumas Lake neighborhood are sounding the alarm. They're concerned hundreds of new homes are going up, but there's still only one road to get in and out. And they say that could make any evacuation plan a big problem.

"You try to raise questions [and] that fear factor climbs quickly, really quickly," Plumas Lake resident Pat Williams said.

Williams and his wife, Jennifer Svec, bought what they considered their dream home before they watched so many new homes go up around them, with only one street in and out of the neighborhood.

"It was a dream, it's turned into a little bit of a nightmare," Svec said. "I'm very concerned that the development we purchased over 5 years ago only has one ingress and egress."

"We now have 100 homes, it looks like we're going to be in the neighborhood of anywhere from 200 to 500. How are we going to get out if there's a fire? How are we going to get out if there is a train derailment?"

Williams and Svec say they started voicing their safety concerns after watching people in similarly constructed neighborhoods in Paradise try to flee from the Camp Fire.

They were also in the evacuation zone for the Oroville Dam crisis and watched traffic back up.

"If residents are concerned, then that's a problem for me," Yuba County Supervisor Gary Bradford said.

Bradford says the development by Lennar Homes was legally approved years ago and meets county and state laws with a bike trail that can double as an escape route for vehicles.

"That is actually the primary reason the bike path was created for an emergency evacuation route," Bradford said.

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But it's not a solution giving this family a sense of safety.

"We wouldn't be good public stewards or good citizens if we didn't point out the safety hazard that's happening," Svec said.

They're left worried if disaster strikes, will they be able to escape.

The neighbors are considering a letter-writing campaign to bring more attention to this issue.

Supervisor Bradford said he has asked the County Office of Emergency Services if they have any concerns.