An Emergency Center Ensures Monte Vista Residents Have a Safe Place to Go

With wildfires and other natural disasters often a threat, emergency preparedness is critical for rural Colorado communities like Monte Vista. The problem is Monte Vista doesn’t have a dedicated emergency and evacuation facility for residents. For the Monte Vista community, the issue became clear after a 17-acre fire tore through a neighborhood in April 2022, destroying several houses and forcing the evacuation of roughly 100 homes, according to the Colorado Sun. City of Monte Vista staff have been working to create an emergency and evacuation center at the local Ski Hi complex, securing more than $1 million in federal, state, and local funding. But that money did not cover the design and planning work that needed to be done before construction could begin, so Monte Vista’s city manager reached out to LOR for support. LOR’s funding will help the city of Monte Vista contract for engineering and design services for showers, restrooms, and other facilities at the emergency center, kick-starting a project that will ensure Monte Vista families have a safe place to go during crises.