Harris Park Wildfire Evacuation Drill May 23

PCFD Harris Park Evacuation Drill and CoVid-19
North Park County Evacuation Drill
CoVid-19 Mitigation Measures
5/2/20

In preparation for the 2020 Wildfire Season, Platte Canyon Fire Protection District (PCFPD), Park County Sheriff's Office (PCSO), and Fairplay Dispatch are planning to run a Wildfire Evacuation Drill on May 23rd, 2020 for the Harris Park Subdivision.  Harris Park was identified in PCFPD’s 2020 Community Wildfire Protection Plan as an “Extreme Evacuation Risk Neighborhood”.  The intent of the N. Park County Evacuation Drill is to educate civilians and train emergency responders for future Catastrophic Wildfire events in Park County.  Civilian participation in the drill will be completely voluntary.  Optimistic projections for this year’s civilian drill participation sit at 35-45 households.  This drill has been previously facilitated 4 other times, so the three agencies do have a solid track record of execution.  

We believe this drill provides a critical government function.  As public safety agencies we must continue to recognize that wildfires remain a significant life-threat to our community, and that threat must not be ignored during a pandemic.

In order to meet the requirements of Executive Order D 2020 044, PHO 20-28 Safer at Home, and the guidance of Park County Public Health, the following measures will be in place to eliminate potential spread of CoVid19:
1. Starting now and leading up to the day of the evacuation drill, all public information disseminated to civilians about the Evacuation Drill will include a discussion of the approved social distancing measures that will be used on May 23rd.   

2. On the day of the drill, Civilians will be notified of the mock-evacuation via CODE RED, a no-contact reverse 911 emergency mass communication tool. 
a. The CODE RED message will contain all pertinent information regarding evacuation routes and procedures, as well as all the necessary social distancing practices.
b. Example CODE RED message- “This is a Drill- Harris Park is under threat from a fast moving wildfire.  Healthy Residents who would like to participate in the practice evacuation are advised to get into their vehicle, leave their houses immediately and drive down CR47/Clark Rd, to CR43, to Deer Creek Elementary school.   Please remain in your vehicle during the check-in process at the Evacuation Site and maintain 6 foot separation between yourself and other people. Participation in the drill is voluntary. If you are sick with CoVid19 symptoms, stay home, do not drive to the Evacuation site. This is only a Drill” 

3. Upon arrival at the practice evacuation site, a drive-through check-in process will occur.  Civilians will be directed via signs to remain in their vehicles the entire duration.  Fire and Law personnel will be at the site, wearing N95 masks, gloves and eye protection.  They will interact with civilians through a car window from a distance of 6 feet or greater.  Each check-in will be completely touchless and no-contact, last up to 5 minutes and will provide the opportunity for civilians to discuss the drill with emergency personnel.

Thank you for your time and consideration. 
Lieutenant Cashman
PCPFD
www.plattecanyonfire.com/news/pcfd-harri...n-drill-and-covid-19