Kiowa County Division of Emergency Management
Elaine Lindholm, Director
1305 Goff Street
Eads, CO 80136
719-438-2288

MEDIA RELEASE – For Immediate Release

December 29, 2006

For more information contact
Kiowa County Division of Emergency Management
Chris Sorensen, Public Information Officer
719-688-1976 (cell, not for public release) or chris@kiowaoem.com

KIOWA COUNTY DECLARES DISASTER DUE TO STORM

   (EADS, COLORADO) The Kiowa County Commissioners today declared a local disaster due to the ongoing blizzard conditions, which are expected to continue through Sunday morning.
   The declaration, approved by Commission Chair Rod Brown, states that the county is facing the possibility of widespread damage, injury or loss of life. The declaration further states that response and recovery will be far in excess of the county’s available resources.
   Virtually all area roads are either officially or effectively closed, including Highway 287 from Lamar to Limon, due to the storm that began early this morning and is expected to continue to Sunday. The National Weather Service in Pueblo is predicting blizzard conditions, 19 to 35 inches of snow, and winds gusting to 35 miles per hour. Winds tonight are expected to gust to 55 mph.
   The Kiowa County Courthouse closed at 10:30 Friday morning due to weather conditions. County road and bridge crews are NOT clearing roads today; however employees are on standby at the county shops in Sheridan Lake, Eads and Haswell to plow paths in emergency situations. All non-essential travel is strongly discouraged.
   Motorists who become stranded before reaching shelter should NOT leave their vehicles. Run the motor for 10 minutes per hour to keep warm, and make certain the exhaust pipes are kept clear. Due to conditions, receiving assistance may take some time, but the safest course of action will be staying in your vehicle.
   The Colorado State Patrol has confirmed one fatality in Kit Carson County as a result of the storm and poor road conditions. A vehicle was traveling west on Interstate 70 at 10:30 last night with the vehicle struck a person who was loading a car on to a tow truck.
   Current road conditions can be found on the web at www.cotrip.org. Weather conditions are available at weather.gov/pub.
Governor Bill Owens has declared a state-wide disaster emergency due to the ongoing blizzard conditions. The Colorado National Guard, which was activated during last week’s blizzard, will remain active to help fight this second onslaught of wintry weather. Owens also reactivated the State Emergency Operations Center to monitor conditions.
   General information about emergency services is available from the Kiowa County Division of Emergency Management, 719-438-2288, or the Kiowa County Sheriff’s Office, 719-438-5411. For immediate emergencies, dial 911.

#30#
Released 2006-12-29, 14:24 – Initial release – Also available electronically at www.kiowaoem.com