Has Relatively Mild Weather or Emergency Contingencies for Known Hazards
Summit & Grand counties have few potential threats, compared to most
areas, and both counties have emergency plans to deal with them. There
are reported to exist an additional set of "secret" plans for each
county. These are the catastrophic (civilization ending) event plans
designed to isolate the counties from a possible overwhelming influx of
refugees and to coordinate efforts to commandeer, control and distribute
private and public resources in a manner consistent with long term
survival absent outside aid. I have not seen this plan, though I have
spoken with responsible and generally reliable sources who say they
have.
Grand County
Grand County Pre-Disaster Mitigation Plan (Download
PDF)
Natural hazards such as wildfire, lightning, high winds, avalanche, and
sever winter storms are normal aspects of Colorado's rugged mountain
country. These and other natural hazards have historically often
impacted daily life in Grand County. Today, human caused hazards like
technology failures and terrorism add a different dimension to the
threats faced not only in Grand County, but throughout Colorado and
across the nation. To assist Grand County in reducing the impact on
safety, property and critical infrastructure caused by these disparate
hazards, Grand County and its incorporated jurisdictions are updating
and supplementing their emergency planning efforts through development
of the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Plan ("PDMP" or the "Plan"), which
follows.
Scope Of The Plan
The Plan focused on those hazards determined to pose high and moderate
risk as indicated by Grand County's risk assessment. Priority is given
to hazards with greater potential to affect health and safety, impact
emergency response capability, or create distress to property and
critical infrastructure within Grand County.
Grand County carefully considered a variety of natural hazards and human
caused threats pursuant to the compilation of this plan, and the hazards
and mitigation actions detailed herein are those prioritized by the
County and its plan partners.
Prioritized Hazards
Based on the risk assessment, the planning team prioritized these
hazards for further analysis and mitigation planning:
Wildfires
Winter Storms
HAZMAT - (transportation)
Landslides/Rockslides
Disease Outbreak
Of secondary concern to the planning team were the hazards of
Lightning/Thunderstorms
and
Drought. The team
determined however that the five top prioritized hazards posed a greater
overall risk to life, safety, critical infrastructure, and vital
services.
Other Hazards
To conform to FEMA's guidance for PDMP development and to consider all
relevant hazards with potential impact on Grand County, the planning
team reviewed a comprehensive list of hazards in addition to those
prioritized by risk assessment activities. Those other hazards
considered by the planning team include:
Flooding (flash & seasonal floods)
Avalanche
High Winds/Tornado
Earthquake
Volcanic Eruption
Asteroid/Comet
Terrorism - International & Domestic
Airplane Crashes
Jail/Prison Escapes
Civil Disturbance
Flood due to Human Involvement
Military Accidents
Arson
Urban Fire (Accidental)
Extreme Acts of Violence
Hazardous Materials - Fixed Installations
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Summit County
Summit County Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan (Download
PDF)
Summit County and participating jurisdictions developed this
multi-hazard mitigation plan to reduce future losses to the County and
its communities resulting from natural hazards. The plan was prepared
pursuant to the requirements of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 and
to achieve eligibility for the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) Flood Mitigation Assistance, Pre-Disaster Mitigation, Hazard
Mitigation Grant Programs.
The County’s planning process followed a methodology prescribed by FEMA,
which began with
the formation of a Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee (HMPC) comprised
of key
stakeholders from Summit County, participating jurisdictions, and state
and federal agencies.
The HMPC conducted a risk assessment that identified and profiled
hazards that pose a risk to
Summit County, assessed the County’s vulnerability to these hazards, and
examined the
capabilities in place to mitigate them. The County is vulnerable to
several hazards that are
identified, profiled, and analyzed in this plan. Floods, wildfires,
severe winter weather, and
avalanche are among the hazards that can have a significant impact on
the County.
Geography and Climate
Summit County is located high in the Colorado Rockies along the west
side of the Continental
Divide. It encompasses approximately 619 square miles and is located
slightly northwest of the
geographic center of Colorado. I-70, the state’s main east-west
transportation corridor, bisects
the County. The County is bounded by Grand (north), Clear (east), Park
(southeast), Lake
(southwest), and Eagle counties (west). The eastern section of White
River National Forest and
Eagles Nest Wilderness are located in Summit County.
The County’s topography includes broad mountain valleys flanked by high
peaks. Several
mountain ranges converge in the County, including portions of the Gore
Range, the Ten Mile
Range, and the Front Range. Elevations range from 7,500 feet at the
northern end of the County
where the Blue River enters Grand County to 14,270 feet at the summit of
Grays Peak.
Vegetation is based primarily on elevation. The lowest elevation areas
in the Lower Blue Basin
are composed primarily of sage meadows. At around 9,000 feet and above,
coniferous forest
predominates. Timberline is located at approximately 11,500 feet, with
areas above that
elevation comprised of snow, rock, and alpine tundra.
The County has one drainage basin, that of the Blue River. The river
flows northerly throughout
the County. Two large reservoirs, Dillon and Green Mountain, are located
in the central and
northern portions of the County, respectively. These reservoirs impound
the Blue River, which
intersects with the Colorado River about 15 miles north of the County
border. Two large
tributaries, the Snake River and Ten Mile Creek, also enter Dillon
Reservoir.
At the lowest elevations, around Green Mountain Reservoir, summer high
temperatures reach
into the low 80s. At the County’s higher elevations, high temperatures
can be significantly
cooler, with evening temperatures that can dip into the 30s. Winter lows
occasionally drop below
-35°F, though daytime temperatures are often in the 20s and 30s. The
relative humidity is quite
low throughout the year. Much of the annual precipitation comes in the
form of winter snow, but
afternoon summer thunderstorms are common. Snow is possible at any time
of year in the
highest elevations.
The Summit County Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee (HMPC) reviewed
data and
discussed the impacts of each of the hazards required by FEMA for
consideration, which are
listed alphabetically below, to determine the hazards that threaten the
planning area:
Avalanche,
Coastal Erosion,
Coastal Storm,
Dam/Levee Failure,
Drought,
Earthquake,
Expansive Soils,
Extreme Heat,
Flood,
Hailstorm,
Hurricane,
Land Subsidence,
Landslide,
Severe Winter Storm,
Tornado,
Tsunami,
Volcano,
Wildfire,
Windstorm
Data on the past impacts and future probability of these hazards was
collected from the following
sources:
• State of Colorado Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan (2007)
• Information on past hazard events from the Spatial Hazard Event and
Loss Database
(SHELDUS), a component of the University of South Carolina Hazards
Research Lab, that
compiles county-level hazard data for 18 different natural hazard event
types
• Information on past extreme weather and climate events from the
National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Climatic Data Center
• Disaster declaration history from FEMA, the Public Entity Risk
Institute, and the USDA
Farm Service Agency
The HMPC eliminated some hazards from further profiling because they do
not occur in the
planning area or their impacts were not considered significant in
relation to other hazards.
Hazards Not Profiled in the Plan &
Hazard Explanation for Omission
Coastal Storm Planning area is not near coastal areas.
Expansive Soils Expansive soils are not a common soil type in the
planning area and the HMPC was
unaware of past impacts.
Extreme Heat* The hazard has not created problems in the past. Due to
the high altitude and alpine
environment of Summit County temperatures are rarely hot enough to
affect human
health.
Hailstorm* Hailstorms occur, but large-sized damaging hail similar to
that occurring on the
Front Range of Colorado is very rare. Past damage has been negligible.
Hurricane Planning area is not near coastal areas.
Land Subsidence Hazard is primarily related to coal mining in Colorado.
There are no coal mines in
Summit County. The HMPC are unaware of any areas of concern or past
impacts.
Tornado Past events have been rare and weak in strength (F0). Damages
are addressed in
the profile for windstorm.
Tsunami Planning area is not near coastal areas.
Volcano Dotsero, near Glenwood Canyon, is the only volcano of concern in
Colorado. It has
not erupted in 4,000 years.
Source: Summit County Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee, 2008
*Although Summit County has received USDA disaster declarations for
these hazards, it was as a contiguous county, and no
information has been found to suggest that the County was seriously
impacted.
The HMPC identified 13 natural hazards that significantly affect the
planning area and organized
these hazards to be consistent with the State of Colorado Natural
Hazards Mitigation Plan (2007).
Although not required by the Disaster Mitigation Act, the HMPC decided
to address one
manmade hazard—hazardous materials release. The risk from this hazard is
related primarily to
the transportation of hazardous materials through the County, and the
HMPC believed this was
an important issue to incorporate into this hazard planning process.
The HMPC also decided to profile mountain pine beetle infestation. This
hazard affects the
lodgepole pine tree population in the County and exacerbates wildfire
risk.
Avalanche
Dam Failure
Drought
Earthquake
Erosion and Deposition
Flood
Hazardous Materials Release (Transportation)
Landslide, Mudflow/Debris Flow, Rock Fall
Lightning
Mountain Pine Beetle Infestation
Severe Winter Weather
Wildfire
Windstorm
The Criteria List - How the 2 Counties
Stack Up (follow links to detailed information)
Membership Goals:
Our target goals for voting age self-reliant survivalist members:
Grand County: 13,406 population x 15% = 2,011 members
Summit County: 28,296 population x 15% = 4,245 members
Total voting age members wanted: 6,256,
although half that would make a BIG difference to the counties.
If you already live in Summit or Grand Counties,
contact MEG to let us know!
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