Chris CiarloChannel 2 News
Many folks evacuated during the Caughlin Fire got out safely because they were warned by a phone call to their house, but that only works if you have a land line.
"With a fast moving fire like that, part of our plan was knocking on doors, helping people evacuate from their homes," said Aaron Kenneston of the Emergency Operations Center. "We used the system to alert the people who were further in the fire's path."
However, there are some difficulties with sending out a warning. Kenneston said they were worried about sending out a mass message to everyone in that area because it would create some traffic problems if everyone evacuated at once.
So, Kenneston said they tried to get the message out to each neighborhood, depending on the fire's behavior.
But that's not the only issue the Emergency Operations Center was facing. Many folks in the Caughlin area did not receive a warning at all because not everyone has a land line.
"The federal government has plans to ensure every mobile device receives emergency alerts," said Kenneston. "Unfortunately, we're still a year or two out from that being implemented. In the interim, we ask everybody to sign up with our system."
To sign up go to WWW.READYWASHOE.COM
