Procedural Changes Made In Elbert County Ahead Of Wednesday's Storm
KIOWA, Colo. (CBS4) - As the state prepares for a strong spring storm Wednesday, many agencies are making changes to the way they respond to severe weather. The first bomb cyclone storm that struck in March left travelers stranded despite warnings to shelter in place.
"We had some lessons learned from the last blizzard, of things that we could've done quite a bit better. Maintenance of vehicles was one thing that really hit us. The lack of good information to everyone in the county or anyone traveling through the county was something that needed some repair," said Elbert County Undersheriff Dave Fisher.
Fisher says this time around, the military vehicles used in emergency rescues are all serviced and ready to go. He pointed to the enormous armored vehicle he used during the bomb cyclone.
"I was driving this vehicle to try and rescue some people and the wind was blowing so hard it blew a 22,000 lb. vehicle sideways on the road."
Inside the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), more changes were made to handle Wednesday's blizzard.
"Lots of messages going out, but there wasn't a coordinated effort so we're going to try to do that a lot better."
Elbert County is not only doing more outreach ahead of the storm, it will have more agencies at the EOC room communicating face to face.
"We're putting more effort into closing roads and having signs up. We're putting message boards up. We're trying to put up an all-out PIO campaign so the public knows what's going on between all the different agencies throughout the county."
The Elbert County Sheriff's Office covers 1,800 square miles of territory and occasionally assists Douglas County. The expansive territory means they count on people to heed their storm warnings.
"You're putting your first responders and yourself at risk if you go around a closed road sign. We will be writing tickets and (Colorado) State Patrol will be writing tickets for people that go around barricades."
For the worst-case scenario, there are three snowcats staged across the county capable of plowing through large snow drifts and can hold around 10 people.
"The winds coupled with the snow tend to drift the roads shut and so we're going to see some stranded motorists that don't heed our warnings to stay home and stay off of the roads. So we're preparing for the worst of course and hoping for the best."
