A new emergency alert system, now in place in Clallam County, allows county officials to contact citizens through numerous means quickly and easily. Officials say it will help them manage critical activities, improve the efficiency of daily operations and may save lives.

With this new system, Clallam County can alert residents about severe weather, fires, floods, toxic environmental issues and in-progress violent crimes. Messages can be sent to individuals using a variety of contact mechanisms — cell phone, landline, e-mail, text messaging, fax, pager and more, ensuring that residents and city and county staff receive life-saving emergency information and important public service announcements in minutes. Citizens listed in the county’s 9-1-1 database will automatically be subscribed to emergency alerts by landline, though any individual may self-register and provide additional contact information. In addition, the county and Clallam cities plan to use the Clallam Co. Alert System to notify residents about other important activities, such as road closures and water utility maintenance.

The new Clallam County Alert System replaces “Nixle,” the previous community alerting system, though officials say they will continue to utilize Nixle through a transition period.

To sign up for emergency alerts, visit www.clallam.net/Sheriff/. For more information, contact Penny Linterman in the Clallam County Sheriff’s office at 417-2483 or plinterman@co.clallam.wa.us.