Emergency Services Urges Missoulians to Sign Up for Smart 911

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - The National Weather Service and other agencies have warned Missoula area residents that an intense wildfire season is upon us, and the Missoula County Office of Emergency Management is encouraging all residents to sign up for emergency notifications through Smart 911.

I spoke with Adriane Beck, Director of the Missoula County Office of Emergency Management, about the importance of this notification system.

Missoula Emergency Services Urges all to Sign up for Smart 911

“The best thing that people can do as we go into summer months is pay attention to the changing conditions and recognize that the fire season is upon us, and they need to sign up for emergency alerts so that they can be informed of emerging wildfires that may impact their homes,” began Beck.

Beck said that Smart 911 has become a vital part of emergency management over the years.

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“Asking people to sign up for emergency alerts is a year round campaign, but certainly we look at these opportunities that fire season presents to encourage people to sign up for emergency alerts so that they know what's going on and that they can take protective action should the need arise for their home and their property.”

Smart 911 is a Vital Part of Emergency Management

Beck explained how Smart 911 works.

“Missoula County uses Smart 911 to send emergency alerts to people's cell phones that are geo-targeted based on their address,” she said. “People who have a landline phone, we have the ability to send those voice calls to those landline phones associated with those addresses, but cell phones operate a little bit differently, and we need people to opt in to receive those alerts based on their address point.”

Smart 911 is Designed for both Cell Phones and Landlines

Beck said the Smart 911 system is part of a wide network of emergency communication.

“It allows us to access the National Integrated Public Alerts and Warning System to trigger emergency alerts as well as the wireless emergency alerts,” she said. “So anybody who's received an Amber Alert knows that it is one of the gateways that Missoula County has to issue those very urgent, time-sensitive alerts.”

Missoula County has a Two Stage Evacuation Process

When a wildfire occurs, Beck said Missoula County has a two-stage evacuation process; the first being an evacuation warning, which may be followed by an evacuation order.

Sign up for Smart 911 here.