Yuma County Emergency Manager Jake Rockwell Talks About Emergency Challenges and Answers

In a recent interview with Trevin Martin from Yuma’s 100.9 FM, Yuma County Emergency Manager Jake Rockwell spoke about the challenges for this time of year, as summer is about to kick off. This is generally the busiest time of year with potential for severe weather, drought, and wildfires.

Every three years, they perform the Colorado Emergency Preparedness Assessment (CEPA) with the State of Colorado as well as the local emergency stakeholders and try to narrow down what the top hazards are for the county, and even the region. Other top hazards throughout the year are animal diseases, blizzards, and high winds.

He is responsible for communicating with the County Commissioners, getting information out with alerts as needed, and one main thing Jake has been working on is the Yuma County Recovery Plan. It was based on the lessons that were learned from the big hailstorm from May 20th, 2024, in Yuma County, that impacted Wray & Yuma. It will address concerns such as clean-up from storm damage, and what to do about scammers who prey upon those who are affected the most by these storms.

Mr. Rockwell encourages everyone to sign up with their local emergency agencies, be it police, fire, CODE-RED, etc., to receive alerts when emergencies occur.