Sacramento, CA – In a joint operational planning effort, the town of Woodside and the town Portola Valley, along with the Woodside Fire Protection District, have selected Ladris Technologies as their software of choice for comprehensive community evacuation planning. Ladris’ software underwent a rigorous evaluation of its functionality, security, road closure adjustments, and visual interface, resulting in its selection to assist community evacuation planning efforts for wildfires and other disasters in Woodside and Portola Valley.
Ladris Technologies provides AI-driven evacuation planning software that enables emergency managers to simulate detailed population responses to disasters, including evacuation times and traffic conditions for any number of what-if scenarios. Through evacuation modeling and planning, emergency managers can identify areas of concern, evaluate strategies to reduce evacuation times, and prioritize areas that require mitigation. Ladris' intuitive user interface allows users of any experience level to derive actionable insights by integrating disparate data sources, leveraging machine learning, and displaying the results in a dynamic visual environment.
Woodside and Portola Valley rigorously vetted Ladris during the selection process, including testing advanced features such as grid searching and Monte Carlo simulations. At the conclusion of the vetting process, Chief Don Bullard explained, "No other platform has the depth of modeling capabilities that Ladris provides. Its technology is light years ahead of the field. Ladris will enable us to plan and train in ways we couldn’t before, creating a common operating picture and getting all of the communities in our district involved in preparing for and responding to these events."
In light of recent California legislation, the work being undertaken by Woodside and Portola Valley in evacuation planning is timely and important. California Assembly Bill 747 increased the urgency and fidelity needed for evacuation planning. Ladris’ modeling enables municipalities to fulfill these new state requirements. Fire Marshall Don Bullard said, "The Ladris platform has capabilities we’ve wished we had for years. Now we have the chance to put those plans into action and get our whole community involved in doing so."
Leo Zlimen, CEO of Ladris, explained, "Woodside and Portola Valley plan to use Ladris to increase their overall readiness to respond to disasters. Using Ladris AI, they will be able to develop a highly rigorous evacuation plan that will include schools, properties with animals, and other specifically vulnerable locations. They intend to know in advance where to deploy control points and coordinate across agencies."
The town of Woodside and town of Portola Valley, along with the Woodside Fire Protection District, have already begun working on their new evacuation plans and intend to provide regular updates to the community as they advance their work.