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Evacuation Information
Should a fire occur, decisions to initiate evacuations will come from the emergency services agencies, including the Eagle County Sheriff's Office (ECSO) and Eagle River Fire Protection District (ERFPD). Notifications to evacuate will be sent through a variety of information and warning systems. The two sources of public information and warning systems are Eagle County (EC) Alert and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs). Cordillera property owners are strongly encouraged to sign up for ECAlert.
Notices to evacuate mean people should leave. Neither Public Safety nor the Sheriff's Office has sufficient manpower to visit every property and force people to leave. People who do not leave could be endangering the lives of emergency responders as well as themselves.
In the event of a large-scale emergency within Cordillera or elsewhere in Eagle County, official information will be available at ecemergency.org.
EC Alert is an alert notification system to immediately contact you during urgent or emergency situations with useful information and updates by sending messages to your devices:
EC Alert registration is free. Your carrier may charge you a fee to receive alerts on your wireless device and will not be reimbursed by cities, towns or the County. People may subscribe to EC Alert by visiting www.ecalert.org.
The Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) notification is a federal system that allows local agencies to send alerts to cell phones in the area, even if they haven’t subscribed to the local EC Alert notification system. WEAs are used to send concise, text-like messages to WEA-capable mobile devices during emergency situations. WEAs can be sent by state and local public safety officials, the National Weather Service, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, etc.
Notices to evacuate will include a description of the evacuation routes and normally allow enough time so that people may use main roads.
Golf courses contain many safety zones in the event an exit becomes unusable. Sand traps and greens have little to no combustibles and greens are irrigated on a daily basis.
On a regular basis weather forecasts are accompanied by "Red Flag Warnings" which means that high winds and dry conditions could cause fire activity to become a large-scale event. Draught and dry conditions warrant special attention from everyone in order to prevent fires and serve as early warning to residents to be prepared to evacuate. Please report any suspicious or unsafe activities or signs of fire to Public Safety at 970-926-2335. In an emergency, always call 9-1-1.
Notices to evacuate mean people should leave. Neither Public Safety nor the Sheriff's Office has sufficient manpower to visit every property and force people to leave. People who do not leave could be endangering the lives of emergency responders as well as themselves.
In the event of a large-scale emergency within Cordillera or elsewhere in Eagle County, official information will be available at ecemergency.org.
ECAlert
EC Alert is an alert notification system to immediately contact you during urgent or emergency situations with useful information and updates by sending messages to your devices:
- E-mail account (work, home, school, other)
- Cell phone, pager
- Smartphone, PDA, and other handheld devices
- Land line or VoIP phone
EC Alert registration is free. Your carrier may charge you a fee to receive alerts on your wireless device and will not be reimbursed by cities, towns or the County. People may subscribe to EC Alert by visiting www.ecalert.org.
Wireless Emergency Alerts
The Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) notification is a federal system that allows local agencies to send alerts to cell phones in the area, even if they haven’t subscribed to the local EC Alert notification system. WEAs are used to send concise, text-like messages to WEA-capable mobile devices during emergency situations. WEAs can be sent by state and local public safety officials, the National Weather Service, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, etc.
Evacuation Routes
Notices to evacuate will include a description of the evacuation routes and normally allow enough time so that people may use main roads.
Divide
Cordillera Way is the only exit route for the Divide. Expect two-way traffic as fire trucks may be entering. There are no other routes suitable for motor vehicles in or out of the Divide.
Ranch/Summit/Territories
Fenno Drive is the primary route for the Ranch, Summit and Territories. Expect two-way traffic as fire trucks may be entering.
Diamond Star Ranch is a secondary route for emergency use only. This is an improved dirt road located on the west side of Summit Trail approximately one half mile above the Summit Fire Station.
Alternative Exits
Alternative exits are for emergency use only if other exits become compromised. Alternative exits are not intended for use by passenger vehicles. Vehicles using alternative routes will be limited to vehicles with proper clearance to assure no vehicles become stuck and block the exit for other vehicles.
Emma's Way
The Emma's Way alternative exit is a dirt road between Emma's Way and West Squaw Creek Road.
Territories Trail
The Territories Trail alternative exit starts at the bottom of the Territories and goes to the old Salt Creek Road off of Brush Creek Road south of Eagle. The top portion of this dirt road is steep and rough.
Golf Course Safety Zones
Golf courses contain many safety zones in the event an exit becomes unusable. Sand traps and greens have little to no combustibles and greens are irrigated on a daily basis.
Be Prepared
- Identify irreplaceable items and have them ready to move. Collapsible cardboard boxes are handy to store and useful for packing.
- Inventory your property and possessions. Take pictures or video
- Maintain one hard line telephone that will work during a power outage
- Leave one garden hose hooked up on the exterior of the home for fire fighters.
- Know how to open your automatic garage door manually during a power outage. Most garage doors have a string that hangs down that when pulled disengages the garage door from the track so that it can be manually opened.
- If evacuation appears imminent, back your vehicle into the garage and get it loaded.
- Dress appropriately. Where cotton long pants and shirts. Wear real shoes, not flip flops or sandals.
- Heat travels through glass windows. Close heavy curtains that might insulate against heat. Open light window coverings that might catch fire.
- Maintain your defensible space. In simple terms, the less fuel adjacent to the home the less heat there will be to your home.
- Consider mowing/cutting the native vegetation to lower the fuel loads. Contractors should use caution if in dry grass.
Red Flag Warnings
On a regular basis weather forecasts are accompanied by "Red Flag Warnings" which means that high winds and dry conditions could cause fire activity to become a large-scale event. Draught and dry conditions warrant special attention from everyone in order to prevent fires and serve as early warning to residents to be prepared to evacuate. Please report any suspicious or unsafe activities or signs of fire to Public Safety at 970-926-2335. In an emergency, always call 9-1-1.