Wildridge Wildland Fire Evacuation training exercise set for Friday, May 23

The Town of Avon recently issued the following press release on its upcoming Wildridge Wildland Fire Evacuation Training:

The Wildridge Wildland Fire Evacuation Training will take place on Friday, May 23 starting at 9:00 a.m. until approximately 11:00 a.m. Reverse 9-1-1 and EC Alert notifications systems will be tested in addition to the wildland fire sirens located in Wildridge.

This is a training exercise and will not require evacuation or road closures. Expect to see police activity and door to door knocking in certain areas of Wildridge during this training. Officials recommend the public use this as an opportunity to develop and practice their personal or family emergency plan. The drill is a joint exercise between the Avon Police Department, Avon Public Works Department, Avon Transit/ Mobility Department, Eagle River Fire Protection District, American Red Cross, Salvation Army, Holy Cross Energy, Eagle County Sheriff’s Office, Vail Public Safety Communications Center, Eagle County Paramedic Services, Eagle County Human Services, Colorado State Patrol, Vail Mountain Rescue and Eagle County Emergency Management.

EC Alert and ReachWell are the emergency alert systems for Eagle County. Subscribers can elect to receive time-sensitive emergency messages to their phone, desktop and/or mobile device based on chosen alert areas and categories. Non-emergency messaging from EC Alerts, such as traffic alerts, area alerts, business alerts and red flag warnings are only sent via email and the Everbridge App. Emergency messaging such as gas leaks, evacuations and wildfires are sent via text, phone calls, email and the Everbridge App. Even if you have signed up in the past, residents are encouraged to verify their notification settings at www.ecalert.org.

Volunteers are welcome to participate in the exercise and interested community members can call (970) 748-4040 and ask for an on-duty supervisor to learn more about volunteer opportunities.

Avon Police Department thanks the community for their time and patience as this important training exercise is conducted. For more information on what you can do to prepare for this wildfire season, please visit the Wildfire Prevention resources on Avon.org.