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.

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 have two primary sources; Eagle County (EC) Alert and Everbridge.  Cordillera property owners are strongly encouraged to sign up for these two systems.

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.

Eagle County (EC) Alert

EC Alert is an alert notification system to immediately contact you during urgent or emergency situations with useful informaiton and updates by sending messages to your devices:

• E-mail account (work, home, school, other)
• Cell phone, pager
• Smartphone, PDA, and other handheld devices

EC Alert is your personal connection to real-time updates, instructions on where to go, what to do, or what not to do, who to contact, and other important information. EC Alert is the primary means of communication for Eagle County emergency services.

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. 

Everbridge is a mass notification service that allows Eagle County to alert you. You opt-in to enter your contact information. This system provides voice notification commonly referred to as the "Reverse 911" system. If you have a hard-line phone in your home, you should automatically receive these calls. You can also subscribe to receive these calls on your cellular or VoIP phone at www.member.everbridge.net/index/1332612387832141#/signup.

Evacuation Routes

Notices to evacuate will include a description of 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.