Evacuation notices prompted by the Upriver Beacon Fire on July 17 were accomplished using ALERT Spokane, a county-wide emergency notification system. Uniformed law enforcement officers also went door-to-door in the Level 3 evacuation zone to ensure residents were quickly and safely leaving the area.

Although ALERT Spokane has more than 215,000 phone numbers in the system, residents are urged to register to ensure seamless communication in the event of an emergency. This is especially important if your primary phone  is a cell phone.

The system is used by emergency personnel to send alerts and time-sensitive messages to Spokane County residents and businesses impacted by high risk situations. These situations may include evacuations, shelter locations and other potentially life-saving communications. The emergency alerts are sent via phone, text, email and/or TTD/TTY. There is also a “social share” feature built into the system.

“This mobile technology is extremely advanced. We can pinpoint citizens in a geographic area to give them emergency notifications,” explained Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich. “This makes a huge difference in saving lives.”

To receive emergency alerts, Spokane County residents and businesses can choose one or both of the following options:

• Register online for ALERT Spokane – you can choose how (text, email, phone) and in which language you would like to receive emergency messages. If your phone is VoIP (Voice-over Internet), you must register to receive an alert. If you have local phone service provided by CenturyLink or Frontier, your landline (but not your cell phone) is already in the database
• Download the “Code RED Mobile Alert” app – this smartphone app is free. Follow the instructions on the app to receive ALERT Spokane notifications according to your phone’s geographic location.

The software supporting the ALERT Spokane emergency notification system is provided by Code RED Mobile Alert, a Florida-based firm that specializes in governmental and first responder emergency notification systems. ALERT Spokane is operated by Spokane County’s Department of Emergency Management.

Learn more about ALERT Spokane.