NEVADA CITY, August 12, 2021— During wildfire events, Nevada County Sheriff’s Office uses multiple communication tools to create a layered and redundant system to alert residents when a wildfire poses a serious potential threat to life and property. Opt-in CodeRED Emergency Alerts coupled with pre-identified evacuation zones, Hi-Lo Sirens, and federal communication systems like Wireless Emergency Alert and the Emergency Alert System were all tools used by the Sheriff’s Office and the Office of Emergency Services during the River Fire.

The opt-in CodeRED Emergency Alert system is a powerful tool that sends telephone calls, text messages, and emails to inform residents of emergencies such as wildfire. This is the primary tool the County of Nevada utilizes for emergency alerts – in conjunction with hi-lo sirens and Zonehaven. Register at ReadyNevadaCounty.org/EmergencyAlerts. 

During the registration process, residents provide their home address to receive alerts when their address is impacted. For those without access to the Internet, 211Connecting Point provides 24/7 over-the-phone registration assistance at 2-1-1 or 1-833-DIAL-211. To ensure everyone in a household receives these address-based alerts, include all household phone numbers and emails in your account during the registration process. 

Many residents also use CodeRED’s free smartphone application called Mobile Alert that may be downloaded in the App Store and Google Play. Be aware, downloading the Mobile Alert app to your smartphone does not automatically register your home address in the opt-in CodeRED Emergency Alert system. If you have a smartphone and are able to regularly update apps, download the CodeRED application to support your awareness.

A test of the emergency alert system will take place throughout the day on Monday, August 16, and will be sent to all residents throughout Nevada County.

“We want the technology to make a situation more clear, not add confusion. Everyone has different levels of comfort with technology. If you’re confused, call us. We are here to help,” adds Cummings.