SPOKANE, Wash. — Fire season is here and several areas in the Inland Northwest have already had evacuation notices issued. Spokane County Emergency Management says Alert Spokane can keep families safe during wildfire season and beyond.
Residents near Riverside State Park got phone alerts before they saw smoke. The alerts told them they were in an evacuation zone.
“All of a sudden, my cell phone lit up. I got several alerts,” said Linda Lee Kershner, who lives near Riverside State Park.
Kershner has lived near the park since 1993. In 1994, a fire jumped the river and got close to houses.
“I decided, grab the dog. Go to Colbert, see my daughter,” she said.
“It alerted me right away. And then the next thing I know, I live out close to Long Lake, and that’s where they were dipping, with the seed planes,” said Frank Benish, who was signed up to receive alerts for the area.
Alert Spokane sends text messages or phone calls when there’s law enforcement activity nearby, evacuation zones, or other safety information.
The system works for other emergencies too. Friday’s fireworks show at Riverfront Park was paused because of a fight and false reports of an active shooter. Alert Spokane users got a message saying there was no threat.
“All of our dispatchers, both our fire dispatchers and our law enforcement dispatchers, are trained in the use of the system and can send alerts. And so that’s what SPD did,” said Chandra Fox, Deputy Director of Emergency Management.
People can also get alerts for more than one address.
“You could list your child’s daycare. You could list grandma’s house. You could list any other address that’s important to you other than your home address,” Fox said.
This helps people watch out for friends and family.
“I needed to get out of here, as did my neighbors, so I called them and told them I was going only because we all watch out for each other,” Kershner said.
You can sign up for emergency alerts in Spokane County by clicking here.
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