Some in Oregon Wildfires' Path Never Got Evacuation Alerts
PHOENIX, Ore. — Niria Alicia was visiting Eugene, Ore., on Labor Day, several hours north of her family home in the Rogue Valley, when her phone chirped with an alert warning of high winds expected in the state. But the next day, when those winds blew a firestorm through her neighborhood, her phone stayed silent.
Ms. Alicia, 28, and thousands of others in the path of the Almeda fire on Sept. 8 had no clear direction from the authorities on how and when to flee. As the fire raced across Jackson County, local officials declined to activate their Emergency Alert System, leaving television and radio programs uninterrupted and sending emergency alerts only to residents who had signed up for an online notification system.
The patchwork of official notices fed confusion for those who lived and worked in the fire’s path, including older residents who are distrustful of government or technology, or both, and immigrants who speak little or no English. Many residents said that they had had to search for information on social media and that not all of what they had found was accurate.
As they begin a review of their response to the fires, emergency officials are starting with the hard truth that America’s far-reaching advancements in connectivity have most likely saved lives during wildfires — but only if local governments choose to use them.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/some-in-oregon-wildfires-path-never-got-evacuation-alerts/ar-BB19pCmt?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=DELLDHP
= new reply since forum marked as read
