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2021 Douglas County Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) Adopted by the Douglas County Board of County Commissioners September 14, 2021
Emergency Operations Base Plan
Douglas County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan
2021 – Version 1.
Douglas County
Emergency Operations
Plan
CONTENTS
- Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP) / Current Supporting Plans / Annexes List
- BASE PLAN
- Promulgation
- Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................
- Supersession
- Purpose
- Scope
- Authority
- Concept of Emergency Management
- Situation
- Geography
- Demographics........................................................................................................................................
- Hazard Vulnerability & Risk Analysis
- EOP Implementation & Maintenance
- Concept of Operations
- General
- NIMS
- Community Lifelines
- Plan Activation...........................................................................................................................................
- Incident Typing
- Field organization
- Unified command
- Law Enforcement
- Fire Services
- Incident Management Team (IMT)
- Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES)
- Search and Rescue.....................................................................................................................................
- Animal Response Team
- Utility Services
- Emergency Operations Center (EOC)
- State of Emergency
- Disaster Declarations
- Delegation of Authority
- Joint Information System & Center
- Information collection and dissemination
- Multi-Agency Coordination
- Coordination with Field Response
- Coordination with Local Jurisdictions, Agencies and Special Districts
- Coordination with the North Central Region (NCR)...............................................................................
- Coordination with State and Federal Agencies
- Disaster Finance........................................................................................................................................
- Logistics & Resource Mobilization
- Short Term Recovery
- Annexes and Supporting Plans
- Roles and Responsibilities
- General
- Policy Group..............................................................................................................................................
- Agency Administrator
- Douglas County Elected Officials, Departments & Agencies
- Douglas County Elected Officials
- Douglas County Emergency Services Agencies
- County Departments and Functions
- Partnership of Douglas County Governments
- Douglas County Emergency Support and Affiliated Agencies
- State & Federal Agencies
- Emergency Operations Center..................................................................................................................
- Emergency Support Function Annexes
- EMERGENCY SUPPORT FUNCTION ANNEXES - ESF 1 – Transportation - ESF 2 – Communications, IT and CyberSecurity - ESF 3a – Public Works - ESF 3b – Debris Management - ESF 4 – Fire Fighting - ESF 5 – Emergency Management - ESF 6 – Mass Care - ESF 6a – Animal Sheltering & Issues - ESF 7a – Logistics and Resources - ESF 7b – Donations Management....................................................................................................... - ESF 7c – Volunteer Management - ESF 8a – Public Health - ESF 8b – Mass Fatality - ESF 9 – Search and Rescue - ESF 10 – Hazardous Materials - ESF 11 – Environmental, Agricultural and Natural Resources - ESF 12 – Public Services, Utilities - ESF 13a – Law Enforcement - ESF 13b – Evacuation & Traffic Control - ESF 14 – Recovery - ESF 15a – Public Information - ESF 15b – Warning & Communications
- HAZARD SPECIFIC ANNEX SUMMARIES - Active Threat (Internal to Douglas County buildings or locations) - Cyber Security - Hazardous Materials............................................................................................................................ - Mass Fatality........................................................................................................................................ - Power Outage (to be developed at a later date) - Public Health Emergency - Severe Weather - Terrorism - Wildland Fire
- GENERAL APPENDICES
- Record of Changes..........................................................................................................................
- Signatures
- Policies
- 3A. Adoption of the national incident management system (NIMS)
- 3B. Emergency and Disaster Authorization (EDAR)
- 3C. Emergency and Disaster Finance Policy
- 3d. Adoption of the Emergency Operations Plan
- 3E. PDCG IGA for Disaster-Emergency Mutual Aid and Disaster-Emergency Resource Assistance
- References
- 4A. Douglas County Delegation of Authority and Addenda
- 4B. State of Emergency Declaration – Sample Verbiage
- 4C. Local Disaster Declaration – Sample Verbiage
- 4D. Incident Complexity Analysis (Wildfire)
- Acronyms & Key Terms..................................................................................................................
- 5A. Acronyms
- 5B. Key Terms
- 5C. ICS Summary
- 5D. Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Organization
- ATTACHMENTS
- Fire District Map
- DCSO Patrol District Map
and other agencies that have significant responsibilities associated with recovery from a
disaster.
Per the Emergency Delegation of Authority Resolution ( EDAR, General Appendices, 3B ),
Douglas County Emergency Services (DCES) is directed by the Office of Emergency
Management (OEM) and supported by the Facilities, Fleet and Emergency Support
Services (FFESS) staff and is defined as a cross-functional collaborative group
representing all Elected Official Offices, Departments, and Divisions who participate
and/or have a role in emergency management and preparedness for Douglas County
Government. The DCES is responsible for working collaboratively to revise the Plan.
The DCES group is responsible for collaborating to ensure all County elected officials are
alerted of EOC activations and are aware of status before, during and after an incident.
Occasionally there will be status updates for potential hazards or emergencies that have
the potential to affect Douglas County.
In addition, the following verbiage was added to all Douglas County and DCSO job
descriptions in 2015. In the event of an emergency/disaster in or near the county, all
County employees are expected to make every effort to be available to assist the County
Manager, Elected/Appointed Officials and Department Directors to ensure the continued
operation of any and all necessary County functions. This may mean being available to
perform additional duties and hours beyond what is normally required.
The Douglas County Office of Emergency Management (DCOEM) is responsible for
required periodic updates and revisions to this document. The DCOEM will develop
training and exercise programs to familiarize City and County personnel, emergency
officials, volunteer organizations, and other appropriate private sector organizations
with the provisions of the EOP. It is also responsible for the dissemination of emergency
planning and response information to the citizens of Douglas County.
The EOP is a document that will evolve as it is tested during exercises and real incidents.
The EOP will be reviewed by all Emergency Management partners and updated
periodically. This document will serve as one of many tools meant to improve
coordination among all Emergency Management partners including those at the
Federal, State and Local government level, voluntary disaster relief organizations, and
the private sector. The mission of the collaborating agencies is to enhance public safety,
protect lives, property and the environment, and restore affected communities quickly
and efficiently following a disaster. All participating agencies, departments and
enterprises are responsible for understanding their roles within the Douglas County
EOP.
The EOP is organized into five parts:
1. The Base Plan: This section introduces the overall EOP and gives it authority,
provides the general planning concept, outlines standard or commonly accepted
agency responsibilities at a county level, and identifies legal authorities and
references. The EOP is considered a public document, although specific phone
numbers or names may be removed prior to public distribution.
2. Emergency Support Function (ESF) Annexes: Each Annex contains a general
description of the function, the major response and recovery responsibilities of
the function, and identifies primary and support agencies. These are planning
documents, not procedural documents, and are typically available for public
view. Lead agencies may identify other planning efforts or procedures that assist
in the execution of the ESF. These documents may fall under different rules or
requirements for public availability.
3. Hazard Specific Annexes: Hazard-specific information relating to the unique
responsibilities and resource requirements of the type of disaster most likely to
be faced in Douglas County are collected in these documents. Hazard-specific
information is based on the 2021 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP). Most
Annexes are typically available for public view; however, some Annexes may
contain sensitive information and may be removed prior to public release.
4. General Appendices: The Appendices include policies and references, acronyms
and key terms, and an ICS Summary.
5. Attachments: These documents may provide specific information or tools such
as maps, sample or actual contracts and agreements, phone lists, specialized
county programs or policies or diagrams. Attachments serve to augment the
EOP; while some attachments may be available for public view most are not due
to the sensitive nature of their content and are not considered public
documents. This part of the EOP is updated more frequently than the rest of the
plan to reflect changes in best practices and standard operating procedures.
SUPERSESSION
Upon completion and formal adoption, this plan will supersede and replace the existing
Douglas County Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) dated September 2016.
with the disaster agencies of municipalities situated within its borders. Likewise, when
resources are unavailable with Douglas County, the county shall look to the State to
provide assistance and support. To facilitate cooperation, this Plan is applicable to all of
Douglas County, but does not supersede or replace municipal or state emergency
operations plans, nor is it meant to replace department or agency operating procedures.
It is a guideline meant to be scalable for either small events or large incidents that
require multi-agency coordination.
The Plan is organized into five major sections:
1. The Base Plan : This section introduces the overall EOP and gives it authority,
provides the general planning concept, outlines standard or commonly accepted
agency responsibilities at a county level, and identifies legal authorities and
references. The EOP is considered a public document, although specific phone
numbers or names may be removed prior to public distribution.
2. Emergency Support Function (ESF) Annexes : Each Annex contains a general
description of the function, the major response and recovery responsibilities of
the function, and identifies primary and support agencies. These are planning
documents, not procedural documents, and are typically available for public
view. Lead agencies may identify other planning efforts or procedures that assist
in the execution of the ESF. These documents may fall under different rules or
requirements for public availability.
3. Hazard Specific Annexes : Hazard-specific information relating to the unique
responsibilities and resource requirements of the type of disaster most likely to
be faced in Douglas County are collected in these documents. Hazard-specific
information is based on the 2015 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP). Most
Annexes are typically available for public view; however, some Annexes may
contain sensitive information and may be removed prior to public release.
4. General Appendices : The Appendices include policies and references, acronyms
and key terms, and an ICS Summary.
5. Attachments : These documents include the component documents or
references to documents that constitute the Comprehensive Emergency
Management Plan (CEMP) and other documents that may provide specific
information or tools such as maps, sample or actual contracts and agreements,
phone lists, specialized county programs or policies or diagrams. Appendices
serve to augment the EOP; while some appendices may be available for public
view most are not due to the sensitive nature of their content and are not
considered public documents. This part of the EOP is updated more frequently
than the rest of the plan to reflect changes in best practices and standard
operating procedures.
SCOPE
The EOP applies to all incidents or events within the geographic boundaries of Douglas
County and uses the all-hazard approach and addresses a full range of complex and
constantly changing requirements in anticipation of, or in response to, threats or acts of
major disasters (natural or technological), terrorism and other emergencies. The EOP
also applies to any event that may affect Douglas County regardless of location or size.
This includes events in neighboring jurisdictions, large-scale events within the State of
Colorado, or any situation where Douglas County may be called upon for Mutual Aid.
The EOP is always activated and in use in one sense or another, but escalation due to a
large-scale event may occur at any time and can be accommodated due to the flexible
nature of the Plan.
The EOP does not specifically address long-term reconstruction, redevelopment, and
mitigation measures as these are covered in separate plans in the CEMP.
The EOP embraces the concept of scalability, and therefore may be expanded or
contracted to suit any size, scope, scale, or magnitude of events, including catastrophic
incidents. While the plan is not intended for use in the response or recovery of
incidents which are considered part of the daily operating procedures, the plan may be
helpful if standard events coincide and cause a strain on Douglas County’s resources.
Douglas County is responsible for emergency response operations in all unincorporated
areas of Douglas County and in cooperation with all jurisdictions located in Douglas
County.
AUTHORITY
Federal
1. Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act and
Amendments (Volume VI Public Law 93-288 as amended by Public Law 100-
2. Homeland Security Act and Information Sharing Act of 2002
3. Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006
4. County Resolution No. R012-092, approving Intergovernmental Agreement
for Emergency Management State-wide, September 11, 2012,
AND
5. County Resolution No. R0 21 - ___, defining Emergency and Disaster
Authorizations and approving the Douglas County Emergency Operations
Plan, September ___, 20 21.
CONCEPT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
Emergency Management employs a comprehensive approach to all-hazards planning
and focuses on a collaborative effort with a wide range of partners. This shared
responsibility becomes a collection of disciplines that together seek to build a more
prepared and disaster resilient community. To support this, Emergency Management
performs a support and coordination role, not a command and control function. There
are five phases of emergency management: prevention, mitigation, preparedness,
response and recovery.
- Prevention efforts attempt to avoid or stop an incident from occurring all
together.
- Mitigation involves actions to minimize or reduce the adverse effects resulting
from a disaster.
- Preparedness encompasses the planning, training and exercising of emergency
equipment, policy and procedures.
- Response includes actions taken during the incident to address the immediate
and short-term threats to life, property, environment and the social, economic
and political structure of the community.
- Recovery involves the implementation of programs needed to help communities
return to normal. Recovery can be loosely categorized as short- and long-term
actions.
SITUATION
GEOGRAPHY
Douglas County’s land area covers approximately 844 square miles. The County lies
close to the center of the State along the I-25 Corridor between the major urban activity
centers of Denver and Colorado Springs. It encompasses over 540,000 acres of a varied
topography of mountains, foothills, riparian corridors, and grasslands. The county is
lightly wooded, mostly with ponderosa pine, with broken terrain characterized by
mesas, foothills and small streams. Cherry Creek and Plum Creek rise in Douglas County
and flow north toward Denver and into the South Platte River. Both were subjected to
flash flooding in the past, Plum Creek being partially responsible for the Denver flood of
1965. Cherry Creek and Plum Creek are now dammed.
Elevations range from a low of 5,400 feet in the northeastern area to the high point of
9,836 feet at Thunder Butte in the Pike National Forest.
Douglas County’s vegetation includes pine, spruce, and fir trees in the Pike National
Forest and gamble oak, mountain mahogany, and choke cherry in the foothills.
Cottonwood trees, willows, and grasses inhabit the riparian ways and blue gramma,
switch grass, and winter wheat grasses can be found on the grassland prairie.
Douglas County’s
wildlife includes
deer, elk, coyote,
mountain lion,
fox, hawk, black
bear, the
Preble’s meadow
jumping mouse
(a threatened
species) and is
the nesting
ground of the
Sharp-tailed
Grouse.
The County’s natural amenities accommodate a wide variety of residential categories
ranging from agricultural and pastoral to remote mountain settings to urban living. As of
2019 , the County includes seven incorporated municipalities including Aurora (part),
Castle Pines, Castle Rock, Larkspur, Littleton (part), Lone Tree, and Parker.
Approximately 18% of the land area of the County is urban and the majority of the
County population resides in the northern tier. The majority of the land area in the
County remains in rural (non-urban) land use. More than one-fourth (140,932 acres) of
the County is national forest land within the Pike National Forest. Three State recreation
areas and parks are situated within Douglas County: Roxborough State Park, Chatfield
Reservoir State Recreation Area, and Castlewood Canyon State Park. Major waterways
Table 1 – 2019 Douglas County Population & Land Use Area Information
2019 Population
Est a/o 1.1. 20
(of total County Population)
Land
Area
(Acres)
(of total County Area) Unincorporated Area Primary Urban Area __* 130,^
Castle Pines SUA 4,670 1. 3 % 2,650 >1% Chatfield Urban Area 1,620 0% 6,910 1% Pinery SUA 11,800 3. 2 % 5,491 1% Roxborough SUA 9,390 2. 5 % 2 , 449 > 1 % Municipal Planning Areas (unincorporated)
**Rural (Non-urban) **** 30,800 8. 3 % 440,225 82 % Unincorporated Population 205,800 55.6% 487,646 91% Municipalities City of Castle Pines 11,770 3. 2 % 6,101 1% Town of Castle Rock 72,770 19.7% 21,303 4% Town of Larkspur 195 .1% 935 >1% City of Lone Tree 16,300 4. 4 % 6,104 1% Town of Parker 60,125 16 .3% 14,12 0 3% City of Aurora 2,330. 6 % 1,454 >1% City of Littleton 710. 2 % 159 >1% Incorporated Urban Population
Urban Population 336,700 91% Rural Population 33,300 9% Countywide Total 370,000 537,
_ The community of Highlands Ranch, with a population of 105,417 comprises 51 % of the population of the Unincorporated Population. Source: US Census 2018 estimates ** Includes 140,932 acres in the Pike National Forest and 8,463 acres in Chatfield, Roxborough and Castlewood Canyon State Parks. Source: Douglas County Population 2011 Estimates Report; Douglas County Community Planning and Sustainable Development._*
HAZARD VULNERABILITY & RISK ANALYSIS
Douglas County enjoys a semi-arid climate. The county averages 19 inches of rain and 79
inches of snow annually. Summer high temperatures average 86 degrees and winter
low temperatures average 18 degrees. Douglas County is geographically diverse area
with three distinct zones running north to south. A majority of the western part of the
County is covered by the Pike National Forest, highly timbered in Ponderosa Pine and
Scrub Oak with numerous recreational areas and several residential areas enclosed by
the forest. This heavily forested region transitions into the central area of the county
with an extensive Wildland-Urban Interface boundary. The central area of the county is
comprised by the urban and sub-urban areas of the I-25 corridor with a substantial mix
of residential, business and industrial construction and includes the densely populated
areas of Highlands Ranch, Parker, Lone Tree, Castle Pines, Castle Rock, and Larkspur.
The eastern portion of the county is largely suburban and rural although it also
encompasses the Town of Parker on the north. Within this eastern area of the county
the rural residential areas of the Pinery, Franktown and Russellville lie within the
northern portion of the Black Forest presenting extensive areas of Wildland Urban
Interface.
Douglas County is vulnerable to many natural hazards and technological events that
may cause a disaster. Possible natural hazards include wildland fires, floods, severe
weather, winter storms, hail, floods, drought, and earthquakes. There is also the threat
of terrorism or man-made incidents such as nuclear, biological, or chemical attack or
accidents. These hazards and vulnerabilities are described in detail in the Hazard
Vulnerability Analysis (Table 2 ). For further detail on the Profile for each Hazard or
Threat please reference the 2021 Douglas County Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP)
(estimated completion date June 20 21 ). The LHMP replaces the Threat and Hazard
Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA) Plan found in many Colorado jurisdictions.
The LHMP provides for a Whole Communities approach to natural hazard and risk
identification for Douglas County. Man-made hazards and risks are identified and
assessed in the EOP.
Eleven Mile, Strontia Springs
- Class 2 (one failure) Rampart, J.O. Hill, Pinery, Wauconda, Spring Gulch, Million Dollar have a domino effect and cause the failure of the downstream dams.
- The largest threat is the Cheesman Reservoir dam.
- The inundation maps show the Trumbull area under 53 feet of water ten minutes after a catastrophic failure of Cheesman Dam.
- Flooding in Westcreek area led to damage to homes and roads. The dam in Westcreek has now been reinforced.
- Douglas County owns more than twenty watershed protection and flood control reservoirs. Numerous drainage and detention structures are present throughout the County which may pose a local flood risk to downstream properties.
Hazard / Threat
Description /
Frequency
Threatened
Areas
Notes
Drought
- Can occur year-round, typically worsening during hot summer months with low relative humidity levels. - All areas of Douglas County - Hazard Profile: ▪ Spatial Extent – Significant ▪ Likelihood of Future Occurrence – High ▪ Magnitude / Severity – Medium ▪ Significance – Medium - During dry periods, there is an increase in ignition fuel, creating greater fire danger. - Drought also causes stress to wildlife populations, reducing them in numbers from normal water years due to starvation, encroaching into residential neighborhoods seeking food, etc. - Can lead to water rationing for the human population.
Hazard / Threat
Description /
Frequency
Threatened
Areas
Notes
Earthquake
- At least 4 major faults exist within Douglas County.
- The frequency is unpredictable and will not be anticipated by the majority of the population.
- No major earthquakes have historically occurred in the County.
- The projected maximum quake is 5.5.
- Projected Vulnerability: o 1 household displaced in 500 year earthquake, 31 households displaced in 250 year event. o $77.5 million in estimated total damage from 500 year event o $1.087 billion in estimated total damage from 2500 year event. - All areas of Douglas County - Hazard Profile: ▪ Spatial Extent – Significant ▪ Likelihood of Future Occurrence – Medium ▪ Magnitude / Severity – Low ▪ Significance – Medium
Hazardous
Materials
Release -
Fixed Facility
- Businesses can operate 24 hours a day and may expose a risk at any time.
- Substantial numbers of businesses have reported hazardous chemical inventories to the DC Local - All areas of Douglas County - Hazard Profile: ▪ Spatial Extent – Significant ▪ Likelihood of Future Occurrence – Low ▪ Magnitude / Severity – Medium ▪ Significance – Medium
