The City of Santa Fe Office of Emergency Management (OEM) will hold an open house for interested neighborhood associations and the public on Saturday, March 30, 2024, from 1-4 p.m. at the Public Safety Building to demonstrate its Dynamic Evacuation Model in the event of a potential fire disaster in Santa Fe. 

The model was created specifically for the City by a Santa Fe-based company called SIM Table. The table utilizes a dynamic tool, sometimes referred to as a “sandbox.” Instead of sand, the box is filled with ground walnut shells that absorb light rather than reflect it like sand would. A projector is faced downward to the table to allow a three-dimensional model of the City landscape.  

The simulation includes maps, a Geographic Information System (GIS), and fire behavior models. This allows the OEM to create a visual landscape of the City. The models are sophisticated enough to take into account different types of vegetation, terrain, and weather. 

The simulation then creates a potential fire, which can be started at any point on the table and moved by weather models that show how it would spread in different parts of Santa Fe. 

Click here for the demonstration agenda. For more information, please contact Santa Fe Emergency Management Director Brian Williams at bgwilliams@santafenm.gov or 505-469-1484.