Emergency Management

Before a disaster, men and women will make a choice. They will choose to be victims of the disaster or victors over the disaster. One choice requires no action whatsoever and ends in despair. The other requires preparatory action but results in safety, refuge and peace of mind.

2023 SPRING FLOODING INFORMATION:

Weekly weather forecasts from the National Weather Service Grand Junction Office: Check back here each week for the hydrologic outlook

MAY 25, 2023 UPDATE:
Ashley Creek is running high. Please be careful around waterways! As of 08:00 this morning May 25, 2023; Steinaker Reservoir is at 98.4% capacity. Once it reaches 100%, the inflows from Ashley Creek into Steinaker will decrease significantly from 300+ CFS to about 50 CFS. Which means we will see higher flows downstream in the creek and canals.
If you need sandbags, you can reach out to any fire station in Uintah County or Uintah County Emergency Management for free sandbags.
As always, please stay safe!

FLOOD WATCHES/ADVISORIES: updated forecasts can be found here: NWS Grand Junction
-Duchesne River near Myton: Flood Watch from 5/25/2023 9:31 AM MDT until further notice for Uintah County, UT. More information.
-Duchesne River near Randlett: Flood Advisory from 5/22/2023 1:40 PM MDT until further notice for Uintah County, UT. More information.
-Green River near Jensen: Flood Watch from 5/16/2023 4:00 AM MDT until further notice for Uintah County, UT. More information.

Message from Heidi Lundberg, County Emergency Manager:
Thank you for visiting the Uintah County Emergency Management Website! I hope you will find the information contained on these pages helpful.

As Spring approaches we worry about the potential for flooding. If you are worried about flooding, prepare now. If you live near a canal, creek, river, body of water or have flooded before; prepare now. We're urging Uintah County citizens to prepare now before it becomes an emergency.
You can prepare now by purchasing sandbags locally or online.

We have sand available at the Western Park parking lot, behind the food pantry (426 E 200 S Vernal) AND Jensen Park (8775 E 6000 S Jensen) AND Lapoint Park (10762 1st St, Lapoint).

Just like homeowners' insurance, defense of personal property is a homeowner's responsibility. This applies to businesses as well.

Each fire station in Uintah County has sandbags available for the community. Find the fire station contact information here: Uintah Fire District

Sandbags can be purchased locally at:
-Milt's Ace Hardware
-Lowe's
-Standard Plumbing
-Roofing World
-Cal Ranch
-IFA
-Timberline Incorporated
-PSS
-or anywhere online

SANDBAG TIPS

-When filling your sandbags, make sure you don't fill them too full, about 2/3 full works.

-When stacking sandbags, use the the ratio 3:1. Width = 3 times the height. Build up each layer so that the end of each bag lines up with the middle of the bags below; think brick laying.

-Keep your sandbags out of the sun and weather until you need to use them. These bags aren't meant to stand up to the sun and weather, so after a few months they will start to deteriorate. Make sure to put them out right before you will need them.

-Since the sandbags deteriorate, start thinking about what you will do with the bags once the flooding is over. Consider putting the sand in your yard, garden, or field. The landfill can take the sandbags as well. Check with your garbage company to see if you can put them in your trash cans.

Uintah County Office of Emergency Management
641 E 300 S, Suite #375
Vernal, UT 84078
435-781-5466 Office
E mail: hlundberg@uintah.utah.gov

COMMUNITY NOTIFICATION SYSTEM

CodeRED Seconds Count In An Emergency!

Uintah County has instituted the CodeRED Notification System - an ultra high-speed telephone communication service for emergency and public outreach notifications. This system allows us to telephone all or targeted areas of the county in case of an emergency situation that requires immediate action (such as a boil-water notice, missing child or evacuation notices) and for community outreach.

The system is capable of dialing 50,000 phone calls per hour. It then delivers our recorded message to a live person or an answering machine, making three attempts to connect to any number.

The Offices of Emergency Management in Daggett, Duchesne, Uintah and the Ute Tribe will periodically activate a CodeRED non-emergency/public awareness phone campaign to update the system. Phone numbers and emails in the CodeRED system need to be periodically updated. Exercising the CodeRED service through public notifications, and not just through emergency warnings, provides emergency management the ability to update the system and maintain current data. This benefits Uintah Basin citizens because it precludes the system from calling phone numbers that are no longer active; thereby speeding the delivery of notifications to local residents.

If the public has questions regarding the region's use of CodeRED they may contact Uintah County Emergency Manager Heidi Lundberg at 435-781-5466.

CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED

Examples of times when the CodeRED system could be utilized: