La Plata County, CO – Wildfire Warnings & Evacuations
Situation
The 416 Fire started June 1, 2018 approximately 10 miles north of Durango. The wildfire quickly grew to more than 8,500 acres, threatening hundreds of homes in northern La Plata County.
The La Plata County Sheriff’s Department needed a vehicle‑mounted, long range voice broadcast system to issue mandatory evacuation orders that could be clearly heard and understood by residents.
Problem
Most emergency warning systems sound sirens, but are incapable of broadcasting intelligible voice notifications that contain critical information and potentially lifesaving instructions.
Bullhorns and vehicle P.A. systems have limited broadcast ranges and poor vocal intelligibility.
Solution
The Sheriff’s Department mounted an LRAD long range communication system on one of its trucks and used it to broadcast highly intelligible, fire warnings and evacuation orders to residents living along U.S. Highway 550.
LRAD voice communication systems are self‑contained and temporarily or permanently mounted on vehicles, boats or helicopters.
Clearly heard and understood inside vehicles and buildings, and above background noise, LRAD systems deliver lifesaving notifications during emergency situations, including severe weather, wildfires, flooding, earthquakes, tsunamis, and other critical events.
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