In anticipation of warmer temperatures and the looming threat of fire season, San Diego County has launched a new evacuation notification system that will provide more precise information to residents during emergency situations.
The new system, developed by local software company Genasys, will use geographical boundaries — including lakes, freeways, mountains and more — to outline areas that need to evacuate during a wildfire or other emergency situation, officials said during a news conference this week.
The old system relied on large grid squares that weren’t tailored to specific communities, said Jeff Toney, director of the county’s Office of Emergency Services.
The new system, which went live Wednesday on the AlertSanDiego website and SD Emergency mobile app (for Android and Apple), will provide the public with a detailed shape on a map for the evacuation order zone, officials said. The size of the zone will be determined by the latest information provided by first responders.
Officials also said the more precise system will help firefighter crews who are in the field and provide greater clarity to those immediately impacted, allowing them to leave and return to their homes faster.
“The technology is leaps and bounds ahead of our old system,” Toney said. “Our old system was a little clunky. … You don’t want to evacuate if there’s no threat. We don’t want people out of their homes and on the roads, putting themselves into more danger.”
Rancho Santa Fe Fire Chief David McQuead said sheriff’s deputies, firefighters and dispatchers have trained over the past few months to learn the new system.
It will work with the Sheriff’s Department’s “Hi-Lo” program, which involves a siren-equipped system in sheriff’s and police vehicles across the county that alerts communities to evacuation orders during emergencies.
Sheriff’s Lt. Glen Twyman warned residents that by not evacuating in a timely manner, residents can not only put themselves in danger, but risk the lives of firefighters and other emergency personnel.
“The preservation of life will always be at the top of our priorities during any emergency,” Twyman said.
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