NORAD Evacuated After Five Suspicious Packages Found NORAD was evacuated after five suspicious packages were found on Thursday. Employees became suspicious at NORAD’s Colorado headquarters when something about the packages looked out of place. The evacuation took place at Peterson Air Force Base, though the organization’s control room team was operating at a backup site in Cheyenne Mountain at the time. The control team was at its backup site, because renovations are currently underway at their main building. NORAD is short for North American Aerospace Defense Command. The group is a joint US-Canadian command whose goal is to defend the skies above both nations. They also monitor any sea approaches. Cheyenne Mountain was originally NORAD’s primary control room. It was carved out in the 1960s and can withstand a nuclear attack. NORAD moved to Peterson Air Force Base in 2006. Because the organization’s control team was operating at a backup site, the NORAD evacuation did not affect