California Wildfires Demonstrate Challenges, Limitations of Alert Software

Multiple errors related to alert software used by Californian counties have shown the challenges and difficulties involved in operating and subscribing to local emergency notification software. In one county, emergency managers had to switch software after their vendor’s solution couldn’t send an alert due to repeated error messages. In another, alert messages were sent out to areas not currently threatened by actives wildfires or had contained incorrect evacuation maps for residents to use. Each of these issues were created by software bugs or website coding errors, and took time for local emergency officials to resolve. “Using this system is like doing your taxes every time,” Chris Godley, Sonoma County’s director of emergency management, said of their alert software. “It’s a very challenging, technical process each time you do this.” While no residents were harmed due to these delays, especially since local agencies focus on using multiple communications channels to send information, they did lead to less time for first responders to help evacuate residents. Read more at StateScoop and Government Technology.