Authorities lifted the evacuation around F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne late Thursday morning, about two hours after telling nearby residents to leave their homes, the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office reported. 

A suspicious package had been reported, but the F.E. Warren Air Force Base’s Facebook page said that there’s “no active threat to the installation at this time.” 

“Response personnel remain on scene near Gate 1 as a precaution while the investigation continues,” the post said. 

A cordon remains in place around the visitor control center and Gate 1 is still closed, according to the post, which instructed people to continue using Gate 5 for entering and exiting until further notice. 

Authorities in Laramie County ordered the evacuation of residents living near F.E. Warren Air Force Base starting at about 9:30 a.m..

A notice sent out just after 10 a.m. stated residents living along the base’s east side should evacuate due to a “suspicious package” reported at Gate 1. 

The Laramie County Sheriff’s Office ordered residents on the east side of the base up to McComb Avenue, Country Club Avenue and down to Cosgriff Court to evacuate. “Local Law Enforcement is in the area working to resolve this situation,” the message stated. 

“What I know right now is that a package was left by the visitor center, and so the base is — their security posture is trying to identify what’s going on and make sure that it’s not something that would be a challenge,” Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins told WyoFile at 9:47 a.m.

“I did speak with [emergency management coordinators] just a minute ago, and I did speak with people on the base, and they have the situation under control.”

Collins said he did not have further details about the ongoing evacuation order.

The Wyoming Capitol was also evacuated Thursday morning, Gov. Mark Gordon’s spokesperson told WyoFile.

Laramie County School District 1 said in an email to media shortly before 11 a.m. that none of the district’s schools are evacuating at this time “at the recommendation of law enforcement.” 

F.E. Warren Air Force Base houses the 90th Missile Wing. In 1958, F.E. Warren became the nation’s first operational Intercontinental Ballistic Missile base, according to an official fact sheet. The ICBM program is on full alert 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The Laramie County Combined Communications Center posted on Facebook following the initial message telling residents that the evacuation was a “safety precaution” and urging them not to panic. 

Authorities closed exit 11 from I-25 southbound due to police activity at the base, the post said. The message urged residents not to call 911 for more information, stating that there weren’t more details at the time. 

A 1,850-foot cordon was established around Gate 1, according to the combined communications center. Authorities ordered people in several buildings to shelter in place. The post said parents aren’t authorized to pick up kids and directed people to use Gate 5 for entering and exiting until further notice.

Laramie County officials sent out several notices within a half hour of one another offering contradictory information at times. The first, sent at 9:31 a.m., ordered the evacuation of residents within one mile of the base. 

A second automated text message was sent out at 9:44 a.m., reading: “EVACUATION EVACUATION EVACUATION ALL RESIDENTS ALONG the west side of the base, between Randall and Pershing. Additional to follow.”

Another automated text message sent at 10:07 a.m. said: “Laramie [County] Alter: CORRECTION Suspicious package reported at FEWAFB Gate 1. UPDATE Evacuation is for residents on east side of base up to McComb Ave, and down to Cosgriff Ct. Residents in this area must evacuate temporarily until notified.”

This story has been updated.

Maya Shimizu Harris covers public safety for WyoFile. She was previously a freelance writer and the state politics reporter for the Casper Star-Tribune.

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  1. Living in the impacted area this was a total clown show. It illuminated that the local emergency management agencies, along with the local media need to get their act together. The result was confusion in messaging to the public at large. Totally unbelievable that one had to use Facebook to figure out what was going on … and even those sources credibility was lacking.

    There was a time in the past this would have been more professionally handled.

    Reply