Minden, Nev. — Douglas County 911 Emergency Services is encouraging residents to sign up for Reverse 911, an emergency alert system designed to send alert texts directly to your phone. The alerts will be sent for natural disasters, community emergencies, industrial accidents, wildfires, floods, severe weather, chemical spills, or when police actions occur. Reverse 911 can target all residents in a community down to a single address. “Five years ago Douglas County had 51,000 registered landlines,” said Ron Sagen, Director of Douglas County 911 Emergency Services. “Today we are down to 20,000. Much of this can be attributed to the fact that many people have done away with landlines and are strictly mobile phone users. Currently only 1,000 cell phones are registered on Reverse 911 in Douglas County and we really want to try and boost that number.”

Reverse 911 can send more precise warnings and instructions no matter where you are if your mobile number and physical address are registered in the system. Television, newspapers, and social media can all be effective news sources, but by the time you receive instructions that apply to your area, it could be too late. Register your mobile number and physical address with a local Reverse 911 system so you won’t miss critical notifications.
“Reverse 911 is a critical component in our effort to alert residents of hazardous situations and help notify the public quickly and efficiently during those times when we need to communicate a message faster than any of us can knock on your door,” said Tod Carlini, East Fork Fire Protection District Chief and Douglas County Emergency Manager. The reverse 911 system is used for a multitude of emergency situations, the most recent use during the Frontage Fire in the Ruhenstroth area.

Registration for Reverse 911 requires the user to set up an account and password with their address and phone number. The user’s phone number can’t be used for other purposes or sold to an outside party.
To register your cell phone for Reverse 911 visit: https://douglascounty.onthealert.com
For help with registration contact Douglas County Emergency Services at: 775-782-5126