Emergency Management

The City's Emergency Manager is responsible for the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) and its implementation. The EOP and its annexes provide guidance to City personnel in the event of an emergency.

2018 Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan

La Plata County and the City of Durango have prepared the hazard mitigation plan (PDF) to guide County, City Officials and Fire Protection District Staff to protect the people and property of the County from the effects of natural disasters. This plan demonstrates the City’s commitment to reducing risks from hazards through mitigation and serves as a tool to direct City resources to achieve optimum results with available administrative, technical and financial resources.

Emergency Management Operations Plan

Local governments are expected to anticipate, prepare for, and respond to a variety of potential emergency situations from severe weather to domestic terrorism. When an emergency occurs, they are ready to meet the critical needs of the community as a whole. The City of Durango has a well defined Emergency Operations Plan (EOP). The Emergency Manager manages the development and implementation of emergency management and hazard mitigation programs and policies.

The Emergency Manager is responsible for the EOP and its implementation. The EOP provides guidance to city personnel in the event of an emergency. The elected city officials are therefore not burdened with the operational aspects of an emergency incident and are enabled to provide for the protection and continuity of government in time of crisis.

The EOP promulgates that the City will conform to the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and utilize the Incident Command System (ICS) to administer all major emergencies, natural disasters, and major incidents that occur within the jurisdiction of the City of Durango. The City has available many first response resources such as the police department, city operations department, general services department, communications department, Durango Fire Protection District, the American Red Cross, Medical Reserve Corps, and many other organizations that are coordinated with the City's response to emergency incidents.

Once the City of Durango has exhausted its first response resources, the City Manager along with the elected city officials, can declare an emergency and request assistance from the La Plata County Office of Emergency Management, and/or the State of Colorado Office of Emergency Management.

All department managers and emergency response personnel are trained in the Incident Command System (ICS) for administering major emergencies and disasters. The citizens of the city of Durango are well served by the dedicated personnel tasked with responding to emergency incidents that occur within the City.

Citizens play a big part in emergency situations and therefore are relied upon to remain calm and think clearly with the assurance that they are supported by reliable and well trained emergency response personnel.

Please contact us for additional information or if you have suggestions. You can contact the Emergency Manager, Terry Hoecker at (970) 375-4739.

Click the links below to view the Emergency Operations Plan.

Please be advised these are large documents and may take several minutes to load.