Larimer County webinar urges sign-up for local alerts, home mitigation and pet plans ahead of wildfire season

Camille, a staff member at the Larimer County Office of Emergency Management, and Josh, from the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office emergency services unit, led a webinar Tuesday afternoon advising local residents on evacuation preparedness, the county’s alert systems and home mitigation steps.

Larimer County receives more federally declared disasters than any other Colorado county (29 declarations, the presenters said), and staff emphasized that recent “mega fires” — defined in the webinar as wildfires larger than 1,000 acres — and fast-moving fire behavior make early alerts and planning critical for residents.

The webinar’s central recommendation was that residents register for Larimer County’s local alert system, NoCoAlert, and understand how it differs from federal systems such as IPAWS and wireless emergency alerts (WEA). Camille said NoCoAlert is an opt-in local product that will reach people by the contact information they register; landlines are automatically included in NoCoAlert but cell phones are included only if a resident signs up. By contrast, WEA messages (for example Amber alerts or national tests)…