Pinewood Lake Evacuation Exercise

On May 30, 2026, the Pinewood Lake Wildfire Action Group, in conjunction with the Larimer County Office of Emergency Management, hosted an Evacuation Exercise for our community. First we want to thank everyone who participated in the event; there were over 70 neighbors, partners and volunteers who made this event spectacular.

Special thanks to Camille Millard, the Preparedness and Resiliency Coordinator for the Office of Emergency Management, for spearheading the event and all the volunteers who showed up on a Saturday to support us.

It was an amazing day, here's a summary of the events:

9:15 AM Angie R. kicked off the event by starting an Emergency Evacuation Exercise Net on our GMRS repeater system. The simulated emergency was:

There is a Red Flag Alert with winds approaching 50 to 75 miles an hour.

A Fire has started in our neighborhood and is growing fast.

Angie R. asked neighbors to check-in to the Net and note if they had any traffic (information that needs to be shared) and what their location was (Home or Mobile).

After the neighbors checked into the Net, a request went out to check-in on their buddies. There wasn't much time to do that as the LETA Alert came out a few minutes later.

9:30 AM LETA sent the notification to the 60 neighbors who signed up. The alert stated "Mandatory evacuations have been ordered for Pinewood Lake. Evacuations are MANDATORY - LEAVE IMMEDIATELY TO ENSURE YOUR SAFETY."

Angie R. relayed the message over GMRS Net multiple times as neighbors grabbed their Go Bags and headed to the pre-planned evacuation location.

10:20 AM Most neighbors arrived at the evacuation center by 10:20 AM and Angie R. closed the GMRS Net. All the neighbors gathered in the Fire Training Grounds conference room.

10:30 AM - 11:00 AM Camille Millard introduced a few of our participating partners and special guests who gave brief introductions:

• Dr. Lori R. Hodges, Director of Emergency Management

• Red Cross Volunteers

• Haley Pittman, Operations Administrator for LETA

• Sheriff John Feyen, Larimer County Sheriff's Office

• Dakota Condon, LCSO Wildfire Partner Program Coordinator

• Undersheriff Joe Shellhammer, LCSO

• Larimer County Commissioners Jody Shadduck-McNally, John Kefalas & Kristin Stephens

• George S. & the PLWAG committee

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM We broke into three groups -- Communications, Neighborhood Buddies & Go Bags/Vendors.

• Pete & Angie R. presented on communications that are available to our neighbors. You can read more about their presentation by clicking here.

• Gib & Lisa C. presented on building your neighborhood buddy gru[. You can read more about their presentation by clicking here.

• Volunteers from the event discussed Go Bags and gave neighbors time to visit with all the vendors.

  
  

12:30 PM to 1:30PM We all enjoyed an amazing lunch outside. Sheriff John Feyen & Matt DeDecker, LFRA Wildfire Program Coordinator, discussed evacuation routes and what to expect if we need to use alternative routes. Information about evacuation routes will be posted soon.

Over a dozen Midland Weather Alert stations were given away as prizes.

The Pinewood Lake Wildfire Action Group would again like to thank all our neighbors, the volunteers and partner organizations for helping make this an amazing event. We hope we never have to utilize what we learned, but if we do, we as a community are prepared.