Oregon’s new emergency software improves evacuation alerts amid wildfires

As fire season continues in the Pacific Northwest, officials are using a new tool to bring better evacuation plans to residents.

The Oregon Department of Human Services launched new emergency management software that will help emergency managers better pinpoint areas in harm’s way.

The emergency software was used Tuesday night as evacuations were made in Wheeler County due to the Fossil Complex fire.

Ed Flick, with the Oregon Department of Human Services, says this software will help local officials identify and prioritize populations and give better evacuation notifications. "What’s really exciting is the potential to get all counties and tribes across Oregon on a single system."

The software was launched this summer and was first adapted by Deschutes and Jackson Counties to help fight wildfires.

Now Wheeler county can say the same. "This has been a game changer. We are given the opportunity to push information in a timely fashion," Wheeler County’s Emergency Management Coordinator, Mitch Elliot said.

Flick said he believes that what people are going to see its ultimately more accurate and gives understandable evacuation notifications.

"This software speeds that process up immensely and because fires often cross county boundaries, it also allows counties to work together on the same page to do the best job possible to get timely notifications out to people," Flick said.

https://katu.com/news/local/oregons-new-emergency-software-improves-evacuation-alerts-amid-wildfires-jackson-deschutes-wheeler-county-emergency-management

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Author: KATU News
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News post in at: September 11, 2024, 3:02 am.

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