As a result of the recent wildfires in Lake County, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) recognizes the need to notify the residents of Lake County of emergency situations such as wildfires, floods and other similar disasters. The LCSO uses 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.
The LCSO 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 LCSO urges you to access the sheriff’s office website to add additional contact numbers. We also ask that you spread the word by mentioning the system to family, friends and neighbors.
Brian Martin, the Lake County sheriff, suggests that “all individuals and businesses should take the time to visit our website and add contact information to include cellular phones and other non-traditional phones as well as email and text addresses. 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.
Martin urges residents to log onto the sheriff’s office website at www.lakesheriff.com and follow the CityWatch link on the left side of the webpage. Those without Internet access may call 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 LCSO 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 LCSO 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 several simple ways to register: text your zipcode to 888777 from your mobile phone, or go to the LCSO website at www.lakesheriff.com and sign 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 LCSO.
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 on the website at www.lakesheriff.com, any questions should be directed to the LCSO at 262-4200.
Chris J. Macedo serves as Undersheriff for the Lake County Sheriff’s Office
