Lewis and Clark County urges residents to sign up for alerts

Lewis & Clark County Emergency Management is steering residents to its Emergency Notification Smart911 system as wildfire season, fast-changing weather and road disruptions continue to pose risks across Helena, East Helena, the Helena Valley, Wolf Creek, Lincoln and nearby rural neighborhoods. The county and the City of Helena are also moving through a transition to a new phone system, which makes it more important to keep contact information current before an evacuation or law-enforcement notice goes out.

Lewis & Clark County residents can sign up for emergency alerts through Community Notification Enrollment or by texting LCEMA to 99411. Officials want people to verify that cell numbers, email addresses and other contact details are correct, and to make sure family members or housemates who need their own warnings are also registered.

The alerts are meant to cover more than wildfire evacuations. They can carry notice of smoke-related health concerns, severe weather, flash flooding, road closures and other urgent conditions that can affect daily travel and household safety. Lewis & Clark County’s evacuation information page lifted an evacuation warning for Rimini Road and feeder roads south of Helena.

May through September is the core of wildfire season in Montana, according to the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Lewis & Clark County’s hazard mitigation materials list seven federal disaster declarations for wildfire.

In places where internet service may not be reliable every day, a text or phone alert can be the fastest warning that it is time to leave, reroute, or prepare for smoke and road closures. If a home is not enrolled, there is no alert and less time to gather medications, documents, pets and supplies before conditions change.