General Preparedness

Staying informed about what's happening and knowing your options helps you make better decisions. Getting information early can help you avoid danger and stay safe. 

• This glossary of terms will help you to know what to expect to hear during an emergency communication.
• How you can stay informed and understand Emergency Alert terminology. 
• Outdoor Warning Siren information. 

Emergency Notifications

Boulder County and the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office share important updates through Everbridge (BOCO Alert) and ReachWell notification platforms. Both deliver the same information, with ReachWell offering built-in language translation for broader accessibility.  Make sure you are signed up and receiving real-time alerts.

• Everbridge (BOCO Alert): BOCOAlert.org
  Receive alerts by text, phone call, or email. You can register multiple addresses and phone numbers. 
  • If you block or filter messages, add 303-441-1400 to your contacts and name it “Emergency Alert.” Alerts may not ring or appear as texts if your phone is on silent or “Do Not Disturb.” To ensure you receive alerts, either turn off these modes or adjust your phone’s settings to allow messages and calls from 303-441-1400 to come through, following your phone’s instructions.
• ReachWell: ReachWellApp.com
  • Get Boulder County alerts with built-in language translation.  The app sends alerts directly to your device; just make sure app notifications are enabled. 

During an emergency, family members, including pets, may be separated. Make sure you have a plan for how to contact one another and have a safe location to reconnect until it's safe to return home. 

Creating a Disaster Preparedness Plan

1. Make a Plan with your family and close contacts.
2. Determine a designated meeting location. If there is an evacuation and the members of your household or family are separated, a safe reconnection location should be established. 
3. Consider your household's specific requirements.
   • Different ages of members within your household
   • Responsibilities for assisting others
   • Dietary needs
   • Medical needs including prescriptions and equipment
   • Disabilities or access and functional needs including devices and equipment
   • Pets or service animals
   • Transportation needs
4. Prepare an evacuation strategy. Become familiar with various evacuation routes around your home, work, and frequently visited locations. Practice your plan and evacuation with your family and household members to become familiar. 

For additional information on making a plan, including the needs of your household, and developing an evacuation plan, visit Homeland Security's Ready webpage and the Humane Society of Boulder Valley's Pet Preparedness webpage. 

If you or someone in your household has an access or functional need, being prepared for an emergency or disaster may require some additional steps or support.

Who are individuals with access and functional needs?

• Individuals with permanent or temporary physical, developmental, or intellectual disabilities
• Individuals with chronic conditions or injuries
• Individuals who require language translation
• Older adults and children
• Individuals who are unhoused or of low income
• Pregnant individuals
• Individuals who require service animals 

When developing a plan inclusive of individuals with access and functional needs, be sure to consider that you may not have access to critical medical facilities, pharmacies for medications, or other support systems for several days. 

Other considerations:

• Create a plan that includes family, caregivers, and close contacts using communication cards.
• Create a support network outside of your immediate household and community that can help you in a disaster. 
• Plan ahead for accessible transportation, if necessary. Check with local transit providers as well as with your local transportation organizations to identify appropriate accessible options. 
• If you or another member of your household requires dialysis or other life-sustaining medical treatment, know the location and availability of more than one facility that can support your needs. 
• If you rely on medical equipment in your home that is powered by electricity, speak with your health care provider about alternative power options during power outages.
• Organize and protect prescriptions, over-the-counter medications, and vitamins.
• Wear medical alert tags or bracelets. Also add pertinent medical information to your electronic devices. 
• Plan for children and adults who may have difficulty in unfamiliar or chaotic environments. Additionally, consider your service or support animal or pets and plan for food, water, and supplies in an evacuation situation. 

For additional information on planning for households with Access and Functional Needs visit the sites below:

Surviving in Place

Assisting Persons with Access and Functional Needs in an Emergency

A grab list is used to help you gather the most important items you will need to evacuate your home in an emergency. You will not only want to take emergency supplies like medications, but also irreplaceable items like family heirlooms. 

Use this grab list template to begin your planning. Encourage each member of your household to create their own list. 

Tips for your grab list:

• Consider prioritizing the items on your list
• Give a copy of your grab list and a key or access to your home to a close contact in case you are away from your home or unable to return
• Keep your grab list in a central and easily accessible location
• Remember to update your list frequently to keep the list current with the items important to you 

First aid and CPR training are essential components of disaster preparedness and can significantly benefit you, members of your household, and members of your community. Being prepared with these skills will allow you to:

1. Provide effective treatment for burns ranging from minor to severe, including those from kitchen fires or wildfires. 
2. Address wounds caused by slips, falls, or other accidents. 
3. Stop serious bleeding from incidents such as animal attacks, car accidents, and stab or gunshot wounds. 
4. Perform efficient and effective CPR, a critical skill in saving a life during incidents like a drowning or a heart attack. 

By learning first aid and CPR you empower yourself to effectively navigate emergencies. Be on the lookout for learning opportunities on the Town of Superior's Disaster Preparedness & Recovery page as well as the American Red Cross Training page. 

When emergencies or a disaster occur, utility services can have dangerous cascading impacts. Learning about utility service safety and having emergency supplies in your home will be beneficial in mitigating the dangers and preparing your household for outages. 

Natural gas, typically delivered residentially and commercially through underground pipes, is at risk for rupture leading to gas leaks during a disaster. A gas leak could be ignited from sparks, open flames, electrical switches or static, resulting in fires or explosions. To prevent gas leaks, homeowners and renters should know how to shut off the gas to their residence. Contact your gas company to help guide you through the proper shut off procedures. If you smell gas or believe that you can hear gas hissing or blowing, immediately open a window and get everyone in your household outside. Shut off the gas if it is safe to do so and contact your gas company.

Electricity can ignite natural gas if there is a leak in the area. Learn how to shut off the electricity to your home using the electrical circuit box and the main circuit. Additionally, during inclement weather such as Red Flag Warnings your community may face a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS). During these events, your household may experience hours to days with no electricity. You can find tips to prepare for these events on the Xcel Energy PSPS page.

Clean water is a valuable resource during and after a disaster. Each member of your household should know how to locate the main valve and how to shut off the water. It is important that the valve is maintained and replaced if it becomes rusty. if you identify any cracked lines or a break in the line that could lead to contamination you should shut the water off and have it evaluated for safety before continuing use. 

In addition to knowing how to shut off the utility services connected to your home, the ability to respond to an emergency or an outage at your home is critical. In the event of a fire, fire extinguishers are a go-to life saving tool. Consider an ABC-rated (for ordinary combustibles, flammable liquids, and live electrical equipment). For additional information on fire extinguishers, ratings, and training contact your local fire department and watch Fire Extinguisher Safety in our video library. 

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) provides public health and environmental protection services that promote healthy people in healthy places. In addition to maintaining and enhancing its core programs, the department identifies and responds to emerging issues affecting Colorado's public and environmental health.  

Some of the programs and activities that CDPHE administers include:

• Chronic disease prevention;
• Control of infections diseases;
• General promotion of health and wellness;
• Health facilities licensure and certification;
• Air and water quality protection;
• Hazardous waste and solid waste management; and
• Emergency preparedness

For more information on wildfire smoke and its impacts on your health visit CDPHE. You can also read Smoke 101 to learn about the science behind wildfire and prescribed fire smoke. 

How to Mitigate Post-Fire Smoke Impacts in Your Home

Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences is a partnership of CU Boulder and NOAA. The organization has compiled a resource of post-wildfire indoor air quality facts and solutions to mitigate smoke impacts in your home or business. 

Smoke Mitigation for Homeowners - A Quick Review
Trustee Tim Howard interviews resident Shawn Bisaillon regarding smoke mitigation in homes impacted by the Marshall Fire. To view the interview, visit the YouTube video Smoke Mitigation for Homeowners - Marshall Fire. 

If you want to support your community during an emergency or disaster, there are many meaningful ways to make a lasting difference:

Volunteer: Provide invaluable support by offering your time and skills becoming an essential part of your community's network that ensures a safe and coordinated response. Sign up to volunteer for a Town of Superior or neighboring community disaster event. 

Donate: Financial and goods contributions to organizations focused on disaster relief and preparedness can play a pivotal role in ensuring that response and recovery supplies are readily available for communities in need. Your donation, no matter the size, can help procure supplies, offer training programs, and support distribution in your community and others. 

Educate: By sharing essential disaster preparedness skills, you empower your community to act with confidence when it matters most. 

Train: Gaining skills in basic first aid, CPR, AED skills, and preparedness, response, and mitigation best practices, you can become an essential and knowledgeable contributor to your community. 

By embracing these opportunities, you enhance your own readiness while contributing to the collective resilience that is essential in uncertain times. Your engagement can inspire a culture of preparedness, helping foster a safer, more secure community. 

July & August

On average, July is the hottest month of the year in the United States, and with each passing century, it's only getting hotter (Climate.gov).

Extreme heat occurs when high temperatures and other environmental conditions create elevated risks for human health, ecosystems, infrastructure and livelihoods. Often experienced as intense heatwaves or persistent heat and humidity that place stress on the human body, it is one of the deadliest weather and climate hazards worldwide (WMO). Extreme heat can threaten health by pushing the body beyond its limits. In prolonged high temperatures and high humidity, evaporation slows, and the body must work harder to maintain a normal temperature. Most heat disorders occur because the person has been overexposed to heat or has exercised more vigorously than appropriate for his or her age and physical condition (Boulder County ODM). Older adults, children, and people with certain illnesses and chronic conditions are at greater risk from extreme heat. 

During extreme heat conditions:

• Never leave people or pets in a closed car on a warm day.
• Drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated.
• Avoid high-energy activities or outdoor work during midday heat, if possible.
• If air conditioning is not available in your home find a cooling center.
• Take cool showers or baths.
• Wear loose, lightweight, light-colored clothing.
• Use your oven less to help reduce the temperature in your home.
• If you're outside, find shade. Wear a hat wide enough to protect your face.
• Check on family members, older adults and neighbors.
• Watch for heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
• Consider pet safety. If your pets are outside, make sure they have plenty of cool water and access to comfortable shade. Asphalt and dark pavement can be very hot on your pet's feet.  
• Get more information about heat-related illnesses from the CDC. 

Outdoor Fire Safety

Unintentional actions are the leading cause of outside fires. Community residents should keep fire safety in mind when enjoying summer vacations, camping, family reunions, grilling and Fourth of July celebrations. 

Grilling ignites more than 10,000 home fires on average each year. The Red Cross offers these safety tips:

• Always supervise a barbecue grill when in use. Don't add charcoal starter fluid when coals have already been ignited. 
• Never grill indoors — not in the house, camper, tent or any enclosed area. 
• Make sure everyone, including pets, stay away from the grill.
• Keep the grill out in the open, away from the house, deck, tree branches or anything that could catch fire.
• Use the long-handled tools especially made for cooking on the grill to help keep the chef safe. 
• Don't leave perishable food out in the sun. 

Additional grilling fire safety tips can be found here in English and Spanish.