Community preparedness — Wyoming
Blizzards, wildfire, drought, flooding from snowmelt, and the most extreme wind in the contiguous United States. UW Extension in all 23 counties. CERT teams in the major population centers. Ham operators who are the communications backbone of Wyoming's high desert.
Enter your ZIP to find volunteer groups, training programs, civic organizations, and mutual aid networks in your area.
Organizations and programs near you
Emergency response & training
Food & mutual aid
Skills & learning
Civic & service organizations
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Community calendar
23
County extension offices
3
NWS forecast offices
10+
Amateur radio clubs
7
Community colleges
Where to plug in
Wyoming is the least populous state in the country, with 576,000 people spread across 98,000 square miles of some of the most spectacular and most demanding terrain in North America. Blizzards, wildfire, extreme wind, drought, flooding from snowmelt, and the isolation of communities hours from any major city define Wyoming's preparedness challenge. UW Extension in all 23 counties is often the primary institutional presence in small Wyoming communities.
University of Wyoming Extension serves all 23 Wyoming counties. Wyoming is a top producer of beef cattle, sheep, hay, barley, and sugar beets. Programming spans range and livestock management, crop production, horticulture, food safety, nutrition, 4-H, and community development. In many small Wyoming communities, the county extension agent is the most connected institutional resource available.
The Master Gardener program trains volunteers for Wyoming's challenging high-altitude, short-season climate. Extension runs food preservation workshops, wildfire mitigation and Firewise education, drought management, and blizzard and winter preparedness. The 4-H program serves Wyoming's ranch and farming youth across the state's remote communities.
Wyoming Office of Homeland Security (WOHS) coordinates the state's all-hazards emergency program through county emergency management coordinators. Wyoming's EM planning addresses blizzards (Wyoming has some of the most severe winter storms in the country), wildfires, flooding from snowmelt and thunderstorms, and the isolation challenges of a state where some communities are hours from any professional emergency service.
CERT programs are active in Laramie (Cheyenne), Natrona (Casper), Albany (Laramie), Teton (Jackson), Sheridan, and other counties. In Wyoming's rural communities, CERT-trained volunteers are often the closest thing to a professional emergency response available. Training is free.
The American Red Cross Montana and Wyoming Region serves Wyoming. First aid, CPR, AED, and wilderness first aid classes are offered in Cheyenne, Casper, Laramie, Jackson, and other communities. Wilderness first aid has particular relevance in Wyoming given the enormous amount of backcountry, ranching, and outdoor activity. Red Cross opens warming shelters during blizzards and responds to wildfire evacuations. Volunteer entry points include shelter operations and disaster assessment.
Wyoming's ham clubs are in the ARRL Wyoming Section. In a state where cell service disappears rapidly off the major highways, ham radio is essential emergency infrastructure. ARES teams activate for blizzards that can close I-80 for days, wildfire evacuations, and flooding events. Getting licensed costs $15 for the exam and about $35 for a basic handheld radio. Study at hamstudy.org. This is one of the most practical investments a Wyoming resident can make.
Three NWS offices serve Wyoming: Riverton (central WY and the Wind River Basin), Cheyenne (southeastern WY), and Billings MT (northern WY and the Powder River Basin). Each runs SKYWARN spotter training. Wyoming is notorious for extreme wind — Cheyenne and the high plains regularly experience sustained winds of 60–80 mph that make a blizzard a whiteout in minutes and can close I-80 for extended periods.
Wyoming's weather hazards include extreme blizzards with dangerous wind chills, wildfire across millions of acres of rangeland and forest, summer thunderstorms with hail and flash flooding, spring snowmelt flooding, and drought. The range of temperatures (-40°F to 100°F) is among the widest of any state. Training is free.
Wyoming has over 25 public library locations overseen by the Wyoming State Library. Laramie County Library (Cheyenne), Natrona County Library (Casper), Albany County Library (Laramie), Teton County Library (Jackson), and Sheridan County Fulmer Public Library run community programming. In Wyoming's smallest communities, the library is often the only public facility.
Wyoming's community colleges include Laramie County CC (Cheyenne), Casper College, Western Wyoming CC (Rock Springs), Northwest College (Powell), Sheridan College, Eastern Wyoming College (Torrington), and Central Wyoming College (Riverton). They offer EMT certification, welding, diesel technology, electrical work, and veterinary technology programs.
Why this matters
Wyoming has 576,000 people in 98,000 square miles — about 6 people per square mile. Subtract Cheyenne, Casper, and a handful of other towns, and vast stretches of the state have almost no population at all. The wind blows constantly and hard. In winter, blizzards can bring I-80 — the major east-west corridor — to a complete standstill for days. Cell service ends quickly off the main highways. The nearest hospital may be two hours away in good conditions.
Wyoming's preparedness culture is shaped by this reality. Ranch families keep deep stores of food, fuel, and supplies as a matter of course — not out of any particular philosophical commitment, but because you have to. Neighbors who live 15 miles apart know each other's names, check on each other in bad weather, and show up with equipment when something goes wrong. Ham radio operators provide communications where nothing else works.
CERT-trained volunteers in Wyoming's small towns are not supplementing professional emergency services — in many cases, they are the primary emergency response capability for their community. Volunteer fire companies cover areas that professional departments never could. Extension agents and 4-H programs connect families across vast distances through a common network of community knowledge and practice.
The organizations on this page build the capacity that Wyoming's geography requires across all 23 counties. In a state this empty, prepared neighbors are not optional — they are survival.
The foundation
Community resilience begins with a household that can take care of itself. Cover the first 72 hours, then extend outward to your street, your neighborhood, your town.
Start with the first 72 hours