LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff's Office is urging county residents to sign up for emergency notifications in order to be prepared for situations such as wildfires, floods and other similar disasters.
Undersheriff Chris Macedo said the sheriff's office utilizes the CityWatch Emergency Notification System to contact the community if there has been a community wide or area-specific disaster.
The CityWatch Emergency Notification System can be used to notify you via telephone calls, email and text messages, Macedo said.
He explained that the sheriff’s office uses white page telephone data to place the calls.
If you wish to be called on a number not listed in the telephone book, or you want to be notified via cell phone or email, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office urges you to access the sheriff’s office Web site to add additional contact numbers.
“We also ask that you spread the word by mentioning the system to family, friends and neighbors,” Macedo said.
“All individuals and businesses should take the time to visit our Web site and add contact information to include cellular phones and other nontraditional phones as well as email and text addresses,” said Sheriff Brian Martin. “If your contact information is not in the database you will not receive a call when an urgent message is sent.”
In particular, businesses should register, as well as individuals who have unlisted phone numbers, who have changed their phone number recently and those who use a cellular phone exclusively or have VoIP phones – such as Vonage or Mediacom – as their primary numbers, officials said.
Martin urged citizens to log onto the sheriff’s office Web site at www.lakesheriff.com and follow the CityWatch link on the left side of the Webpage.
Those without Internet access may call 707-262-4200 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Required information includes a street address – physical address, no P.O. boxes – for location purposes and a primary phone number. Additional phone numbers, email and text addresses may also be entered.
The Lake County Sheriff’s also is asking residents to sign-up to receive local alerts. Lake County residents can now receive real time public safety messages through Nixle.
The agency has partnered with Nixle to implement its community notification system to alert residents in real-time for localized emergency situations and relevant community advisories.
As a resident, there are simple ways to register, including texting your zip code to 888777 from your mobile phone or visiting the sheriff's office Web site at www.lakesheriff.com and signing up via the Nixle widget.
Once registered, residents will receive a confirmation text to their mobile device. Residents may also customize their alert settings by going to www.nixle.com and creating a user profile.
All alerts will be targeted geographically, allowing residents to receive localized, relevant alerts from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Nixle Alerts can be sent via text, email, Web, and the Nixle mobile app in an instant. Nixle is partnered with NLETS for unmatched data security, as well as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the National Blue Alert Network and Google for unmatched reach and two-way information exchange.
Today, more than 7,200 agencies around the United States rely on Nixle for community engagement and emergency communications. Nixle’s exclusive partnerships with NLETS, Google and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children allows local police departments nationwide to send immediate alerts and advisories. For more information, visit www.nixle.com .
More information about the CityWatch and the Nixle system is can be found at www.lakesheriff.com . More information about community alerts should be directed to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office at 707-262-4200.