Zozobra evacuation planning detailed
Storms threatened event, but need to remove crowd never arose
More than 62,000 people crowded into Fort Marcy Ballpark and Magers Field on Aug. 31 to watch the fiery demise of Old Man Gloom, and for a time, ducked spiderwebs of lightning and squalls of rain from two storm cells that bookended the burning of Zozobra.
Santa Fe police officials said they were receiving information from a National Weather Service employee inside an emergency operations center on how to weather the storm. In the end, the lightning never got close enough to prompt evacuation concerns, Chief Andrew Padilla told The New
Mexican on the night of the event.
But what if it had?
Questions about evacuation and security have arisen since the burning of Zozobra, in part because another event at the same time — the Capital HighDeming football game a few miles away — was stopped after three delays due to concerns about lightning.
Zozobra organizer Ray Sandoval said event staff had seven contingency plans for emergencies, and Kiwanis organizers meet with police to evaluate security concerns. This year, Sandoval said, Kiwanis had seven meetings with police prior to Zozobra, in addition to coordinating with officers the night of the event.
Deputy Chief Ben Valdez, who runs operations for the police department, said he and Zozobra organizers had discussed emergency evacuations since 2016.
Their plan: Work together to evacuate the crowd and trust that people would leave the park in an orderly fashion, Valdez said.
“The decision to evacuate the venue would not be taken lightly,” Valdez said in an email. “The evacuation itself could pose a cascading effect … if individuals in the crowd cause panic, a child is separated from their parent or people are trampled[,] it would add additional issues.”
In the event of a major threat, Valdez said, police, fire and other emergency officials would make the call to evacuate. The evacuation order would come from a Kiwanis member on the Zozobra stage, Valdez said. At that point, he added, law enforcement and organizers would work to help everyone get out and remain calm.
Traffic enforcement officers would help direct vehicles so the crowd could disperse, Valdez said, and officials from bus and train systems would coordinate to make sure people made the right connections.
Police spokesman Greg Gurulé said in an email last week that in the event of an attack at the park, law enforcement at Zozobra — which includes not only local police and sheriff ’s deputies but a host
of reinforcements from other agencies — would take down the threat and help the crowd evacuate.
“It’s hard to evacuate 60,000 people from a small area in a short period of time and try to maintain calm,” Gurulé wrote. “Our Intel Unit is constantly assessing potential threats to prepare us for effectively dealing with them.”
Sandoval said Kiwanis staff and volunteers are trained to help with departures. The organization has trained radio operators who make sure communications continue, even in the event of a power outage.
And, Sandoval said, more than 100 of the hired staff and volunteers are trained to help with CPR, emergency response and evacuations.
Valdez said that in recent years, crowds have departed without many problems.
“[The police department] has observed many orderly departures … at Zozobra in recent years,” Valdez wrote, “with credit going to the actions of the members of the public.”
This year, there was an issue with orderly entry into the show. Some people got stuck in a long wait when backpack checks slowed security lines, Sandoval said.
When the fireworks started, signaling the early burn, some ticket holders stormed the gates.
When people with unchecked bags threatened to enter, Sandoval said, Kiwanis and police made the decision to shut out the crowd.
Sandoval estimated that more than 1,000 people may have been locked out.
The Kiwanis have offered those shut out to apply for refunds, and as of Monday, Sandoval said 306 people had.
People who paid with a credit card will get charges reimbursed to the card, Sandoval said, and people who paid cash can expect a check in the mail.