Evacuation Presentation and Drill: May 30, 2019

Evacuation Preparedness and Notifications

During wildfires, Marin residents should be prepared to monitor multiple sources for fire and life safety information.  Emergency managers will use several methods to distribute fire information: Alert Marin, Nixle, Social Media, local TV and radio, and social media (Facebook and Twitter) are the primary outlets.  Don't neglect to use your own senses - look, listen, and smell for signs of fire and changing conditions!

ALERT MARIN

During a wildfire, "Alert Marin" is used to provide notice by phone, text, email, or app when an ACTION must be taken at a SPECIFIC ADDRESS.

If a wildfire requires evacuation in Marin and time allows, emergency managers will use the Alert Marin system to send out notifications by telephone, cellular, VOIP, and text message users who have pre-registered specific street addresses.  If you live, work or go to school in Marin County, you should register to receive emergency alerts sent by voice, text, email, or smartphone application.  You can register to receive notices for several locations you are likely to spend time at, or monitor family member's addresses as well.  Register every address, phone number, and device in your household.  Don't delay.

IMPORTANT!  ALERT MARIN IS USED WHEN ACTION MUST BE TAKEN AT A SPECIFIC ADDRESS!  ALERT MARIN IS NOT A GENERAL PUBLIC INFORMATION SOURCE!  Alert Marin will not be used to provide routine updates or fire information!

You MUST pre-register to receive Alert Marin evacuation messages by cell phone or VOIP (Comcast, DSL, or satellite home phones, for example).  

Alert Marin messages are infrequent and important.  Please be sure to set the Alert Marin contact numbers for "Emergency Bypass" on your mobile phone (see below).

REGISTER YOUR CELL PHONE OR VOIP FOR ALERT MARIN TODAY!

OTHER FIRE INFORMATION RESOURCES

NIXLE

During a wildfire, "Nixle" is used to provide INFORMATION by text message targeting ENTIRE ZIP CODES when new INFORMATION becomes available.  

Register for Nixle by texting your Zip Code to 888777 or register online to configure and fine-tune your messaging options.

Please understand that during a wildfire, initial messaging may take time to develop as firefighters focus on attacking the fire and gather information.  Do not expect frequent updates by Nixle (or Alert Marin).  Information will be updated only when conditions change or updates are warranted.  Social media or TV and radio are good options to monitor for "play-by-play" updates.

It is important to understand that Alert Marin and Nixle are different, complementary systems, and currently require separate registrations!  Nixle is an opt-in text message service used to announce local information, targeting zip codes.  You are likely to receive frequent, low-level, non-emergency texts from many local public safety agencies by Nixle.  Nixle may be used to provide general fire information or rebroadcast evacuation alerts, but Alert Marin is a separate and distinct system targeting specific street addresses with the ability to send voice, text, or email ACTION messages.  FIRESafe MARIN recommends that everyone register for Alert Marin and Nixle, and understand the difference!

SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media such as Facebook and Twitter are excellent sources of public information and may be used by local agencies during emergencies.  Be sure to follow your local fire department, Marin County Fire Department (@marincountyfire), Marin County Sheriff's Office (@marinsheriff), and your local police department to monitor fire information and receive updates during local wildfires.

LOCAL TV AND RADIO

Monitor local news and radio stations for fire information.  In Marin, AM 740 (KCBS), 810 and FM 88.5 are good options.  In West Marin, KWMR FM 90.5 Point Reyes & FM 89.9 Bolinas are excellent local options.  KPIX, KRON, KTVU are good local TV news sources.

WIRELESS  EMERGENCY ALERTS

Wireless Emergency Alerts are well know as the system used to distribute "Amber Alerts."  These are sent to large geographic areas, and may be used to send information for large scale emergencies and disasters.  Be sure to verify that Wireless Emergency alerts (Amber alerts and Emergency Alerts) are turned on in your cell-phone's settings.  For example, on an iPhone, under settings/notifications, scroll to the bottom of the page and ensure all alerts are turned ON.

NEW - ALERT MARIN REGISTRANTS CAN SEND A TEST NOTIFICATION TO ENSURE THE SYSTEM WORKS PROPERLY!

Log in to your Alert Marin account to verify your contact information and send a test alert.

Please be sure to enter the Alert Marin contact numbers in your smartphone (415-473-6376 and 893-61) and configure this contact to use your phone's "Emergency Bypass" mode to allow ringing even when your phone is set to silent (iOS set ringtone to "Emergency Bypass" set ringtone to "Emergency Bypass";  Android may vary by phone manufacturer - start here).

WILL YOU NOTIFY ME EVERY TIME A FIRE IS BURNING NEARBY?

It’s important to understand that you will NOT receive routine notifications whenever the fire department responds to a fire in your neighborhood.  In most cases, firefighters are able to quickly extinguish fires without the need for evacuations.  Alert Marin will normally be used only when there is threat or need for evacuation, and messages will only be sent to the addresses impacted! 

Nixle and Twitter, as well as local tv and radio, are also good sources for local information, but are NOT the official evacuation notification system in Marin.  Do not rely exclusively on these alternate sources for evacuation information!