March 4, 2021

Ravalli County Sheriff Steve Holton said he is excited about the new emergency notification system for our community. The system, powered by AlertSense, is intended to be used for emergency alerts, as well as non-emergency incidents that may have significant impacts to residents. Residents and visitors can now receive life-saving emergency alerts and advanced warning of severe weather via telephone, text message, or email, based on individual preferences. Additionally, these alerts can be received directly on an Android or Apple iOS phone by downloading the free MyAlerts app from the Google Play Store or the App Store.

AlertSense allows people to register to receive emergency notifications via their choice of text, phone and/or email messages. This information is 100% confidential and will only be used to communicate critical alerts with timely, accurate and actionable information.

Sheriff Holton encourages all residents to sign up for these valuable alerts. The ability to receive accurate and immediate information about dangerous situations and critical incidents will save valuable time regarding evacuations or life threatening events.

Sheriff Holton said the lack of a reliable address and phone notification system hindered evacuation efforts during the 2016 fire season and finding a solution became a priority for the Sheriff's Office and Ravalli County's Office of Emergency Management.

Holton stressed that the MyAlerts app does not replace the Ravalli County Sheriff's application for mobile phones.

Sheriff Holton said he appreciated the partnership with AlertSense and especially the Ravalli County Board of County Commissioners for recognizing the need and working with the Sheriff's Office to make this notification system a reality. Holton also thanked Office of Emergency Management Director Erik Hoover and Sheriff's Lieutenant Zae Hudson for their persistent efforts to bring AlertSense on line in Ravalli County in a short amount of time.

People can sign up to receive alerts and notifications here: Ravalli County Alerts

[icon_box title=”” icon=”icon-video” image=”” icon_position=”left” border=”0″ link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9l_QOsUUto” target=”_blank” class=”” animate=””]For an instructional video on how to sign up click here[/icon_box]

The public can also download the free MyAlerts app for Android and iOS by going to the Ravalli County Sheriff's app for smart phones and using the associated links. Sheriff Holton added that clerks at the Sheriff's Office would be available during business hours to assist people in signing up for AlertSense notifications.

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