Low opt-in rate for Peak Alerts raises safety concerns in El Paso and Teller County

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- With the High Fire Danger here in our area, and several wildfires that have already broken out here in southern Colorado, emergency officials are getting the word out about an Emergency Alert System that could keep you and your family safe in the event of an emergency.

Officials say having a plan now is better than getting caught off guard, but estimate that more than 80% of people in El Paso and Teller Counties are not signed up for Peak Alerts.

"Peak Alerts" is run by the El Paso-Teller County 911 Authority and designed to send alerts via text message, email, or phone call. Officials use these alerts for emergencies such as evacuation orders for fires or floods, and even shelter-in-place orders when law enforcement activity is nearby.

For example, those who are enrolled received an alert about evacuation orders during the 24 Fire, which burned a few weeks ago in Fremont County.

"We have a concern that the opt-in rate to get alerts is low; we know it's about 120,000 people in our community of 700,000 that are signed up for these alerts," said Ben Bills, the Public Information Officer for the El Paso-Teller County 911 Authority. " We want to make sure people out there understand that this is the official way to get alerts from the public safety officials," Bills said.

The alert system covers El Paso and Teller Counties. You can choose those alerts for your home, school, or any place of concern.

Officials provided the following information on how to sign up for the alerts:

1. El Paso and Teller County residents can sign up to receive emergency alerts at PeakAlerts.org
2. Alerts are geographically targeted to alert those impacted by an emergency.
3. Residents can list up to five addresses in their profile that they want to receive alerts for (home, work, kids' school/daycare, church)
4. List up to eight points of contact to receive alerts (phone, text, email)
5. Residents can download the Everbridge app from the Google Play Store or the App Store to receive alerts on the go. The Everbridge app uses location services on your mobile device to alert you when you travel into an area targeted for an alert that is NOT listed in your Peak Alerts profile. The app is optional and not required to receive emergency alerts.

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