A properly installed and balanced garage door should not be to hard to open by hand. If the door is not functioning properly before the operator is attached, the operator should not be used to overcome an improperly functioning door.
What did people do before there were automatic garage door openers? I remember the first ones about 1958, they didn't have remote controls then, the garage door company installed a sending unit under the hood of the car. Oakmont is a fairly upscale retirement community, that woman is only 69 years old, if she can't open a garage door at 69 maybe she should just move into an old people's home, of course that area is full of Democrats, in fact the paper is The Press Democrat, Democrats are usually not self-sufficient people.
My question is how many of these batteries will still be functional 15 to 20 after they are installed before they are needed again. Wouldn't requiring a man door out of the garage be better?
But then again, these people stud there pushing the open door button with the power out, so......
when you have a potential disaster such as a those fires people should be more active in their preparations. A few years ago we had large out of control fires that had projected pathways to our home. The wife and I set up everything needed in the motor home including important papers, food, water etc. Luckily the fires were contained before they reached my home area. We have had limited snow this year and we could be into another fire season. If I had a garage with my only car inside I would easily chose to just drive thru it - oh wait I had already gassed up and checked my chain saw out - oh wait I have my emergency generator and the transfer switch on my house! We don't need to have laws to mandate battery backup (ok as an accessory if you want it).
I am hoping to build a garage this year - I hope I don't have to pay extra for that battery!