Jefferson County is giving neighbors in Wheat Ridge and the Arvada/Westminster area a heads-up: hazardous-materials training exercises will be happening at two school properties on Thursday. The drills, run by the county Office of Emergency Management together with the Colorado National Guard's 8th Civil Support Team, are fully controlled exercises and not a real public-health incident, officials say. Neighbors should expect extra emergency vehicles in the area and are being asked to steer clear of any clearly marked training zones while crews carry out the practice runs.
The sheriff's office laid out the plan in a Facebook notice, naming Kullerstrand Elementary in Wheat Ridge and Moore Middle School as the two sites and saying the exercises are "intended to strengthen emergency response," according to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. The post cautions that the drill scenes may look like the real thing and repeats the request that the public avoid designated training areas.
What the 8th Civil Support Team Trains For
The Colorado National Guard's 8th Civil Support Team specializes in identifying chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear hazards and advising civilian incident commanders, according to public reporting on the unit. These teams routinely carry out joint exercises with local fire and law-enforcement partners to practice detection, decontamination and coordinated scene management, which helps sharpen response if a real incident occurs, per the U.S. Army.
Why District Properties Are Being Used
Jeffco Public Schools lists both Kullerstrand Elementary and Moore Middle among properties the board voted to surplus earlier this month, and the district says surplus buildings are maintained while future uses are decided, according to Jeffco Public Schools. That surplus status makes closed school sites convenient spots for controlled training without disrupting active classrooms. Residents should not assume immediate danger if they see staged activity on school grounds that are no longer hosting students.
Anyone with concerns or looking for updates is urged by the sheriff's office to check its Facebook page for the latest information. For actual emergencies, officials stress that people should call 911. The county is emphasizing that the exercises are planned, controlled and meant to improve public-safety response, not to pose a threat to the public.
