Colorado Springs neighborhood practices fire evacuation

A Colorado Springs neighborhood is preparing for the worst ahead of this year’s wildfire season.

Hundreds of residents living near Palmer Park participated in a fire evacuation drill Saturday.

More than 160 households signed up to participate in the drill. Police sent out an emergency notification call to those homes, letting families know they needed to evacuate.

“Police officers in the area went door to door knocking on residents’ doors, asking telling them to please leave their homes,” Colorado Springs emergency management coordinatorErin Duran said. “If that does happen to you in a real-world event, you’re better prepared and you know how you’re going to react to that,” she said.

Police didn’t give residents a lot of time to evacuate to simulate a real emergency.

“With wildfires,sometimes you have time to pack, to get ready, and other times you do not have that preparation time,” Duran said. “It’s very important to be prepared so that when an event does happen, you don’t have to stop and think about what’s happening to you.”

Palmer Park residents said it’s important to be ready in case disaster strikes.

“The possibility of wildfire is so great, especially during drought,” Audra Cribbs said. She lives in the area and participated in the evacuation with her family. “All those houses are highly populated with lots of trees. The more prepared we are, the more quickly we can get out, save lives and protect our property,” she said.

Evacuees were sent to Sabin Middle School. The American Red Cross and Pikes Peak Humane Society demonstrated mock disaster shelters for people and their pets.