Printer-friendly version
EDITOR'S UPDATE: ECM no longer recommends AlertSanDiego. While the service does provide timely notification of emergencies targeted by zip codes, we have received complaints of SPAM, political mail and excessing mailings sent to subscribers of that service.
Instead, we recommend only the Viejas Wildfire & Emergency Alerts service powered by East County Magazine. We average a couple of alerts per week and we NEVER send you anything other than emergency alerts via our service. You may also sign up for a weekly e-newsletter about East County news and events, if you choose. We do not share our list with anyone, not even our sponsors--and we always value your privacy.
October is fire season, the month when both the devastating 2003 Cedar Fire and the 2007 wildfires struck our region. Advance notification is crucial to saving lives during a wildfire.
We recommend that everyone in San Diego County sign up for two different emergency notification services: the Viejas Wildfire Alerts powered by East County Magazine http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/?q=node/89 and AlertSanDiego. http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/oes/ready/signup.html.
Why two services? Because they reach people in different ways and at different times. During a fire, you don’t know what may burn – so it’s safest to receive notifications by e-mail AND phone. It’s also wise to sign up for both early notification of a regional threat, and for narrower notices that reach those within an evacuation zone.
At AlertSanDiego, you can now register your cell phone to receive emergency notices that are narrowly targeted if your residence or business is in an evacuation area. (The County’s system already has your land line for emergency notifications via reverse 911).
Viejas Wildfire Alerts reach you by e-mail even if your phone lines or cell phone towers burn down. Some people also forward our alerts to their Blackberries or other portable devices. We are working to add new features including Twitter soon. Our alerts include links to more info, such as locations of evacuation shelters.
Most importantly, Viejas Wildfire Alerts is that you will learn about major fires in most cases BEFORE your neighborhood faces evacuation, giving you more time to prepare. During the 2007 fires, many people did not receive reverse 911 calls while neighbors a block away did. We’ve found that many readers have businesses, family or friends outside their immediate neighborhood and appreciate the early warning about major fires and other emergencies. For instance, one reader called her sister in Rancho Bernardo after receiving our alert. The sister, whose babies were asleep upstairs, had no idea that a fire had just started on her street. We've also received thank yous from people who were driving outside of their residence area, spotted smoke and received our alerts on their Blackberry. If you're only signed up for notification in your neighborhood, you could miss vital information about a fire where you work or to an area where you're traveling within San Diego County.
We also notify readers about other emergencies, such as last week’s tsunami warning, earthquakes, law enforcement bulletins such as SWAT team actions, freeway shut-downs, and urgent weather bulletins such as red flag warnings and flash flood alerts.
During an emergency, you can also check www.eastcountymagazine.org for updates on breaking news—not only in East County, but countywide when a disaster strikes. Readers can post comments and updates, too, alerting others to potential hazards such as downed power lines or fallen trees blocking local roads.
Stay safe! Sign up for these potentially life-saving services today—and tell your friends.
Recent comments