Humboldt County’s Emergency Alert System

The Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services deals with wildfires, earthquakes and other disasters.

“The incident that’s happening out in Maui right now is a good reminder that that could happen anywhere,” Emergency Services Program Manager Ryan Derby said.

Being prepared for a wildfire event is crucial to the inland areas of Humboldt. Notifying the public is a big task.

“We get some early indicators that there’s higher risk,” Derby said. “We’ll get notification for weather services that a front’s coming in or maybe a red flag warning gets issued. That gives us some time to pull staff in and start staging resources.”

Residents can receive alerts in a variety of ways.

First is the opt-in emergency alert system Humboldt alerts.

This system allows residents to customize how they receive their alerts via text, email, or phone call.

Another more interactive method is through the Genasys Protect app.

Originally known as Zonehaven Aware, the app is broken into 300 evacuation zones across the county.

“When an incident happens, we turn – we call it painting a zone red. Essentially, we issue an evacuation order, that zone is going to turn red. And if it’s a warning, it’s going to turn yellow.”

It will also provide instruction on what residents need to do and where to reach out for resources

The Genasys Protect app can be installed on either iPhone and Android platforms.

You can also sign up for Humboldt Alerts on the county website.