When It’s Time To Leave: Summary of California Mass Evacuation Laws

California’s evacuation laws grant most evacuation-related authority to local governments. However, certain individuals at both the state and local levels have the authority to close and evacuate an area where “a menace to the public health or safety is created by a calamity including flood, storm, fire, earthquake, explosion, accident, or other disaster”¹ or an area affected by an avalanche.² These individuals include peace officers, local health officials, California Highway Patrol officers, police officers, sheriffs, marshals, supervising full-time public lifeguards, and supervising full-time public marine safety officers.³ California law does not mention who has the authority to lift evacuation orders nor how long the orders can be in effect.

Misdemeanor charges can be brought against any unauthorized person who knowingly enters and willfully remains in an evacuated area. This penalty does not apply to authorized persons assisting in the evacuation or emergency response or members of the news media.⁴

State laws concerning avalanche-related evacuations also allow peace officers to use “reasonable force” to remove any unauthorized individuals who willfully remain in an evacuation area after receiving a notice to evacuate.⁵ The use of force is not explicitly referenced in other California evacuation laws.

The state government offers ongoing support for localities preparing for potential evacuations⁶ and can offer aid during an evacuation if a state of emergency is proclaimed by the governor.⁷ The California Office of Emergency Services, which coordinates the state’s emergency aid, has designated the California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency⁸ as the lead state agency for evacuation-related aid.⁹ The Office of Emergency Services has also assigned evacuation-related duties to several other state agencies and departments (Table 1).

California encourages and requires local governments to take certain evacuation-related actions. These actions include

• Using best practices for evacuating persons with disabilities and those with access and functional needs when creating evacuation plans¹¹
• Addressing evacuation routes for fires and geological hazards in all local planning and zoning initiatives¹²
• Coordinating with local harbor agencies when developing evacuation plans for municipalities located near harbors¹³
• Establishing local 2-1-1 information services to communicate evacuation procedures and related information to residents¹⁴
• Creating local flood protection plans, including evacuation plans for flood-prone areas¹⁵

California law includes specific evacuation requirements for dams, levees, and nuclear power plants.

Dams. The Office of Emergency Services requires all dam owners to submit inundation maps, which are used to designate areas where flooding from a partial or full dam failure could result in personal injury or loss of life.¹⁶ Once those areas have been designated by the state, local public safety agencies can create evacuation procedures for the areas based on state recommendations. According to the statute, evacuation procedures in emergency action plans may include the following elements: a description of the evacuation area, evacuation routes, possible shelter locations, procedures for persons with special needs, and procedures for lifting the evacuation and reentering the area.¹⁷

Levees. California requires local entities, which maintain and operate project levees,¹⁸ to adopt safety plans that include evacuation procedures.¹⁹

Nuclear power plants. California directs its Department of Transportation to fund, construct, and repair evacuation routes around nuclear power plants.²⁰ State law also requires state and local law enforcement agencies to ensure that all traffic-flow plans account for evacuation of areas in and around nuclear power plants. Secondary traffic-flow plans are also required for when primary evacuation routes are rendered impassible.²¹

While still supporting local government authority over evacuations, the governor of California has divided the state into mutual aid regions to help facilitate local resource sharing. There are currently six mutual aid regions in the state, which are coordinated by the Office of Emergency Services.²² Local governments may also enter into memoranda of understanding with state agencies, other local governments, and local organizations to facilitate mutual aid.²³

California is also a party to the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC).²⁴ This compact supports mutual aid between states once a party state has proclaimed a state of emergency. EMAC also allows for supplemental agreements to be made between party states, including evacuation-related agreements and evacuation plans.²⁵

California law exempts first aid or medically trained personnel who are asked to help with search and rescue during an evacuation from civil liability related to any emergency services rendered. Emergency services are defined as “first aid and medical services, rescue procedures, and transportation or other related activities.”²⁶

Other immunities from civil liability go into effect once a state of emergency or local emergency has been proclaimed.²⁷ These include exemptions for state and local governments and their employees regarding discretionary action or inaction during an emergency.²⁸ In addition, medical professionals, including physicians, nurses, and veterinarians, are exempt from liability arising from injuries sustained by a person or animal treated by them at the implied or expressed request of a state or local official during an emergency.²⁹

Other state governments and their employees are also protected from liability when offering mutual aid to Californians.³⁰ These immunities, with exception to those provided to state and local governments and their employees, apply only to actions or omissions that were made in good faith.³¹ California courts have found that the state has absolute immunity from civil liability under the California Emergency Services Act and is not subject to a good faith requirement.³²

This document was developed by Emily Sargent, CDC Public Health Law Program Intern and JD and MPH candidate at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law and the Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, with the assistance of Gregory Sunshine, JD, Public Health Analyst, Chenega Professional and Technical Services, LLC, and Matthew Penn, JD, MLIS, Director, Public Health Law Program (PHLP) within the National Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Public Health Infrastructure and Workforce. For further technical assistance with this inventory, please contact PHLP at phlawprogram@cdc.gov. PHLP provides technical assistance and public health law resources to advance the use of law as a public health tool. PHLP cannot provide legal advice on any issue and cannot represent any individual or entity in any matter. PHLP recommends seeking the advice of an attorney or other qualified professional with questions regarding the application of law to a specific circumstance. The findings and conclusions in this summary are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC.