Tracy neighborhood concerned after Corral Fire burns too close for comfort: 'A wake-up call'

TRACY — Homeowners in an area of ​​the San Joaquin County town of Tracy are calling on city leaders and developers to increase the number of entry and exit points to their neighborhood in case of an emergency.

Tracy Hills, an 1,850-acre resort-style residential development as described on the Integral Communities website, will have 5,980 single-family homes when completed. The neighborhood entrance located off Corral Hollow Road in Tracy, near the site of the 14,000-acre Corral Firehas only one paved entrance and exit road.

That's a problem, according to some homeowners, who fear that with only one paved road in and out, evacuations in the event of a fire would be devastating.

“I think the events of last weekend were a huge wake-up call,” said Stephanie Pino, who has owned a home in Tracy Hills for two years.

Pino said the concern about what to do in an emergency, not just a fire, began when his family moved into the neighborhood. That's when she said she began contacting the HOA, town leaders and developers in Tracy. Others joined him, as CBS13 reported in emails and neighborhood chats.

Technically, there are two exits, but the second option is for emergency vehicles only: it is unpaved and is locked by a gate. Even though law enforcement would be able to open the door in an emergency, some homeowners have expressed concern that in an emergency they would not be able to evacuate through them -themselves other than by the one-way road located in front of the street. Development.

“We need more than one point of entry and exit from this community,” Pino said.

Tracy City Council member Matteo Bedolla said he expressed concerns about the number of entry and exit points in this development as early as 2020, before he became an elected official.

“I would say it's certainly not just a public safety issue or a transportation issue, but because it's a public safety issue, it really should be the priority of anyone involved in serving the public,” Bedolla said.

Since he first voiced his concerns, Bedolla said a fire station has been built in the Tracy Hills neighborhood, which he sees as a step toward safety.

“We don't have a police substation in this part of the city. We already had a fire station, but there was so much missing. We don't have much in the area of ​​the city. city, no commerce, no retail “So by building these homes, you create a demand that you have to be able to meet,” Bedolla said.

Pino said she could see the flames of the Corral Fire from the windows of her home, but never had to evacuate. “What ifs” come to mind now, hoping that with the construction of Phase 2 of Tracy Hills, improvements to entry and exit points will be made throughout the neighborhood.