Twice in 2024 weather events left Pinewood Springs with little-to-no communication with the outside world.

During a fire & high-wind event in April and again during a lightning event in August, there was a period of time where many Pinewood Springs residents had no power, no cellular service and no landline service.

Had there been an evacuation notice issued, how would we have known?

The Pinewood Springs Fire Protection District is working to ensure we can communicate with our community during emergencies. Since the Moose Fire in April 2024, we have been working with LETA (Larimer Emergency Telephone Authority) and the NWS (National Weather Service) to implement a backup method for residents to receive emergency evacuation notifications through the use of weather radios using IPAWS (Integrated Public Alert and Warning System). In the event of an IMMEDIATE EVACUATION of Pinewood Springs, LETA will issue the order through NWS and information will be broadcast over weather radio channels.

• The Weather Radio will ONLY be used in immediate evacuation situations (not voluntary evacuations)

• Any weather radio will work! If you already have a Weather Radio go to the Event Codes and turn 911 Telephone Outage to "ON"

• PSFPD is offering the Midland Weather Radio for $25. Complete the form below to reserve yours. 

• Fill out the form below and you will be contacted with a date & time to pick up your Weather Radio at the Pinewood Springs Fire Station & Community Center. You will have the option to pay online via PayPal or in person with cash or check.  The Weather Radios should be available for pick up by mid-September. 

• Please note: this $25 price is available only to residents of the Pinewood Springs Fire Protection District. Limit one Radio per address, while supplies last. 

• If you have any questions at all, please email Chief Plank at chief@pinewoodspringsfire.org. 

----------

For Voluntary Evacuations or situations where there is time for advance notification of Mandatory Evacuations, instructions will be issued via LETAs normal procedures to your phones, devices and email and the Weather Radios will not be used.

Click on the icons below to register your telephones, email addresses and other devices at these sites.

During an evacuation, in addition to alerts going out from NoCOAlert and BoCOAlert, our mutual aid partners in blue, Deputies from the Larimer County Sheriff's Office and the Boulder County Sheriff's Office, as well as officers from Estes Park PD, Larimer County Park Rangers and others will be going door-to-door to ensure that everyone has received the message to evacuate.

PSFPD and your volunteer firefighters are focused on strengthening emergency communication in our community. In addition to signing up for alerts, we would like to thank xBar7 for creating a public Wi-Fi hotspot at the Pinewood Springs Fire Station and Community Center. This public Wi-Fi hotspot can be accessed in the parking areas around the station and will be activated in the event of an emergency.