Forty-one households and ninety participants went through the evacuation process to emphasize the importance of navigating an evacuation and receiving public saftey alert notifications.
News5's Piper Vaughn went to the community and followed the Doersch family, who participated in a simulated wildfire evacuation.
After the drill, participants gathered at Harrison High School for a wildfire preparedness fair.
The call and text alerts started going out at 11 a.m.
The couple said they received the alerts at 11:08 a.m.
The Colorado Springs Police Department explained that notifications were sent to different zones at different times, depending on their proximity to the simulated fire.
The Doersche's told News5 that the simulation was a success.
"We received text alerts. I got two separate text alerts and a phone call. It was a great experience. We were really glad we had a run-through just in case the unthinkable happened," said Nancy Doersche.
Steve Wilch, the Colorado Springs Fire Department's Deputy Chief of Operations emphasizes that despite entering cooler months, fire danger is a year-round threat to our community.
Wildfire risk increased in the fall and winter. As moisture went into the ground and root system, light flashy fuels, like grasses that carried the fire, became more susceptible."
Watch the full story above.
