NORTHERN COLORADO REGIONAL HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN Northern Colorado Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan — Page i NORTHERN COLORADO REGIONAL HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN Northern Colorado Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan Larimer County Fort Collins Loveland Estes Park Wellington Berthoud Report and Plan for: Larimer County City of Fort Collins City of Loveland Town of Estes Park Town of Wellington Town of Berthoud Project Manager: Mike Gavin NORTHERN COLORADO REGIONAL HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN Fort Collins Office of Emergency Management 3400 West Vine Drive, Bldg. B Fort Collins, Colorado 80521 Phone: (970) 416‐2878 Fax: (970) 221‐0854 migavin@poudre‐fire.org Developed July 2003 Revised February 2009 Acknowledgements: Hazard Mitigation Plan Steering Committee: Mike Gavin – Fort Collins Office of Emergency Management Merlin Green – Loveland Office of Emergency Management Erik Nilsson – Larimer County Emergency Management Pat Mialy – Loveland Office of Emergency Management Eric Rose – Estes Park Office of emergency Management Larry Lorentzen ‐ Town of Wellington Steve Charles ‐ Berthoud Fire Protection District Project Manager: Mike Gavin, Director – Fort Collins Office of Emergency Management Project Participants: Cities of Fort Collins and Loveland, Towns of Estes Park, Wellington and Berthoud, as well as Larimer County, including but not limited to the Offices, Departments and/or Divisions of: Storm Water Waste Water Law Enforcement Emergency Management GIS Planning Fire Services Colorado Division of Emergency Management Federal Emergency Management Agency National Transportation Safety Board Colorado Department of Transportation National Weather Service Larimer County Department of Health Colorado State University Local Boards/Commissions NORTHERN COLORADO REGIONAL HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN Special Thanks: Kevin Contreras Ty Drage Marsha Hilmse‐Robinson Marilyn Gally Kathy Workman Suzanne Contreras Todd Manns Jess Rulli Chris Lochra Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Maps Special thanks to the GIS Departments of Larimer County, Fort Collins, and Loveland for their assistance with this project. Their mapping systems allowed us to view information in pictorial formats instead of text. Funding: Funding was provided to the cities of Fort Collins and Loveland, as well as to Larimer County and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMA funding was allocated and managed through the Colorado Division of Emergency Management and its Hazard Mitigation Program. Regional Effort: The Northern Colorado Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan includes and addresses natural, man‐ made, and hazardous materials hazard mitigation efforts throughout Larimer County. Planning efforts included numerous smaller communities within Larimer County. These communities include, but are not necessarily limited to, Estes Park, Wellington, Berthoud, Red Feather, Drake, Laporte, and Masonville. The governments of Larimer County, the cities of Fort Collins and Loveland, and the towns of Estes Park, Wellington and Berthoud have agreed to work collectively on this project to produce a regional document. Natural, man‐made, and hazardous materials disasters affect all of these geographic areas without regard for jurisdictional boundaries, though some hazards are more prevalent in some communities than others. These communities routinely share resources in times of disaster and emergency response and believe it is important to share resources in times of planning and mitigation activity relative to these situations. This Plan should be considered a plan‐in‐progress due to the continually changing environment in which these hazards present themselves. This Plan must also be reviewed and adjusted as growth in population, industry, and overall community demographics change. NORTHERN COLORADO REGIONAL HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN Table of Contents List of Maps.................................................................................................................................................................. ii List of Tables and Figures.....................................................................................................................................iii Northern Colorado Regional..........................................................................................................v Executive Summary...........................................................................................................................v Chapter 1: Mitigation Action Plan ...............................................................................................1 Section 1: Plan Development Process.............................................................................................................. 1 Section 2: Introduction........................................................................................................................................... 7 Section 2.1: Rationale..............................................................................................................................10 Section 2.2: Plan Goals ............................................................................................................................10 Section 2.3: Multi‐Hazard Goals and Action Items..................................................................................12 Section 2.4: Plan Use and Implementation .............................................................................................13 Section 3: Community Profiles..........................................................................................................................17 Section 3.1: Larimer County ....................................................................................................................17 Section 3.2: City of Loveland ...................................................................................................................21 Section 3.3: City of Fort Collins................................................................................................................23 Section 4: Risk Assessment.................................................................................................................................28 Section 4.1: Profiling Hazards..................................................................................................................33 Hazard: Aircraft Accidents.......................................................................................................................34 Hazard: Avalanche...................................................................................................................................40 Hazard: Civil Disturbance.........................................................................................................................46 Hazard: Dam Failure ................................................................................................................................51 Hazard: Drought / Extreme Heat.............................................................................................................60 Hazard: Earthquake .................................................................................................................................64 Hazard: Expansive Soils / Subsidence......................................................................................................70 Hazard: Fires – Urban ..............................................................................................................................73 Hazard: Fires – Wildland............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. Hazard: Flood – Flash and Riverine .........................................................................................................94 Hazard: Hail Storm.................................................................................................................................105 Hazard: Hazardous Material – Fixed Facility .........................................................................................107 Hazard: Hazardous Materials – Transportation ....................................................................................111 Table of Contents — Page i NORTHERN COLORADO REGIONAL HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN Hazard: Landslide/Rockslide..................................................................................................................117 Hazard: Lightning...................................................................................................................................119 Hazard: Terrorism/WMD.......................................................................................................................122 Hazard: Tornado....................................................................................................................................125 Hazard: Utility Interruption ................................................................................................................... 127 Hazard: Wind Storm – Severe ...............................................................................................................130 Hazard: Winter Storm – Severe.............................................................................................................131 Section 4.2: All‐Hazards Mitigation Activities .......................................................................................137 Section 4.3: Identification of Critical Facilities and Infrastructure........................................................147