Search & Rescue - Office of Emergency Management
Our Mission:
To monitor the potential for natural and man made disasters which could affect all or part of La Plata County. Provide educational material and information to the general public and citizens of La Plata County regarding those potential hazards and disasters and develop plans in accordance with state laws. Assist the Board of County Commissioner and Sheriff in the coordination of emergency response during disasters and large emergencies.
Have you registered your cell or internet phone with CodeRed?
La Plata County’s emergency notification system is called Code Red. If you live in La Plata County, you may now register up to five cell or Internet phone numbers with your physical street address, ensuring that you get emergency notifications even when you’re not at home or don’t have a land line.
Click here for CodeRed registration or click on the box below.
La Plata County wants you to be prepared in case of emergency and offers a simple, free way for you to stay informed when events unfold that could affect your safety or property. Floods, wildfire, evacuation notices, weather events, and biohazards can unfold quickly and unpredictably. By signing up for the CodeRed emergency notification service, you will receive voice or text updates on your cell phone or voice-over-Internet phone alerting you when situations occur in your community.
The county has also added Animas River alerts to the CodeRed service. By opting in to receive these alerts, you will be notified if water quality changes on the Animas River. Through a regional partnership between La Plata County, San Juan Basin Health, the City of Durango, San Juan County, Colorado, the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute tribes, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and the Colorado Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Management, the Animas River is being carefully monitored throughout the watershed. Stream gauges, real-time water quality monitors and trained river-spotters are coordinating to ensure that any change in water quality – because of spring runoff, flash-flooding, mud-, rock- or landslides, or other manmade or naturally occurring events – is communicated to emergency responders, decision-makers and the general public.
To sign up for CodeRed emergency notifications, click here. Once you’ve created an account, you can choose to receive the Animas River alerts in addition to general updates on emergency conditions in your neighborhood.