With an uptick in wildfires in the Southern Interior, the Thompson-Nicola Regional District is urging people to sign up for its new regional alert system.
Emergency Program Coordinator Kevin Skrepnek says about 400 people have so far signed up for Voyent Alert, which he says is another way for them to be notified of emergencies.
“We do typically see a big uptick though once we actually get into an emergency. That is kind of when all of a sudden its top of mind for people,” he told NL News. “You know, I realize a lot of people’s phones are already crowded but honestly, this is a very effective tool for us, and it is only very much only used based on people’s preferences.”
He says people can choose specific locations for which they want to be alerted after they sign up.
“Its very anonymous,” Skrepnek noted. “All that’s required is people’s postal codes and then some form of contact, so whether that’s a landline, cell phone, emails, whatever people’s preferences are.”
Skrepnek says the TNRD’s alert system was released in June, with the goal of having at least 10 per cent of residents signed up within 12 months. According to the 2016 census, the TNRD had a population of 132,663 people.
“I think there’s a bit of confusion because the province does have their Alert Ready system which just goes to people’s phones whether they want it or not. This one does require people to sign up so obviously, we encourage folks do that,” Skprenek said.
“It just makes it so much easier for us to reach a wide group when we need to get that information out quickly.”
In addition to emergency alerts, the Voyent Alert system will be used to send updates on water and service advisories to users of the TNRD’s eleven water systems and two wastewater systems.