NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Ouray County Emergency Management

Phone: 970-325-7273 ext. 2

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Ouray County, CO — Ouray County to Conduct Full-Scale Evacuation Exercise – May 15

On May 15, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Ouray County will conduct a Countywide Full-Scale Evacuation Exercise. Residents can expect to see significant first responder activity in and around the Town of Ridgway during this time.

This is only an exercise. There is no real emergency.

This exercise has been two years in the making. Ouray County developed a Countywide Multi-Jurisdictional Evacuation Plan and has progressively tested it to ensure it works under real-world conditions. The plan was reviewed and tested at the departmental level, followed by an agency-level tabletop exercise in early 2025. In November 2025, the plan was tested at a countywide multi-jurisdictional level through a tabletop exercise. The May 15 full-scale exercise is the final step in validating the plan in a realistic environment.

For more information go here.

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