ADA COUNTY, Idaho — Ada County officials are testing emergency alert systems to ensure residents have critical time to respond during emergencies as wildfire season intensifies across the Treasure Valley.
The Ada County Emergency Communications Center will conduct tests of its alert system Monday at 6 p.m. for the Barber Valley neighborhood in East Boise.
The test includes notifications from the Code Red app, which delivers location-specific emergency alerts to residents.
"They can receive basically phone calls, emails or text messages to alert them to things going on in their area if there is an emergency that we need to notify them about," said Zack Walls, director of Ada County Sheriff's Office Emergency Communication Center.
Is your phone set up to warn you about emergencies? Ada County officials share what you need to know to be prepared:
The app requires users to input their home address to ensure alerts are tied to their specific location. It can also track users' locations, delivering critical messages even when they're away from home.
Walls emphasized that the system isn't limited to wildfire alerts.
"There may be a missing vulnerable adult that we need help looking for," Walls said. "If there is an issue of immediate risk for some flooding."
Emergency officials can target specific areas affected by an incident.
"The incident command at the scene will tell us within a certain area that they want that message to go," Walls said. "And then we can send out that message to notify the residents within that area."
Even residents without the Code Red app will receive Wireless Emergency Alert notifications, helping officials reach a wider audience during emergencies.
County officials say users must ensure their device has not opted out of WEA features to receive alerts. The opt-in/opt-out menu is typically found in a phone's notification settings. Users must also activate the option to receive local WEA test alerts.
While the Code Red app is specific to Ada County, officials recommend being familiar with alert systems in neighboring areas as well.
"If you live close to another county, I would recommend familiarizing yourself with what the neighboring jurisdictions are utilizing for mass public notifications as well," Walls said.
Residents interested in requesting an emergency test alert for their neighborhood can visit alert.adacounty.id.gov.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
