Jim Wells County Launches Everbridge Be Alert System, Residents Asked to Register

Jim Wells County officials launched a countywide mass-notification system on March 2, 2026, and are asking residents to register so they can receive location-specific alerts by voice, text or email. County Judge Pedro "Pete" Trevino Jr. said officials ran a campaign last year to build the registry because "it’s very difficult during those situation to get a hold of anybody," and emergency coordinators say the system is an investment in community safety.

Local emergency staff have used several names for the program. County messaging has been presented under the brand "Be Alert" with an Everbridge reference, coordinators have described a "Hyper-Reach" app for mobile alerts, and the county is directing users to register through a Local Unified Central Alert System, LUCAS, purchased from Blackboard Connect Inc. County officials have not provided a single reconciled vendor name; the launch messaging asks residents to use the Jim Wells County website to enroll using the LUCAS logo.

The system is built to target specific neighborhoods and to deliver actionable instructions in addition to traditional sirens. Emergency Management Coordinator Patrick Thomas said, "For us it’s a tool and it’s got different capabilities. So, some of the capabilities are geographical. If we want to highlight a certain area of the county or certain area of the city or certain – we can target that certain area. And just send messages to that certain area." Emergency Management Coordinator Lynn Kirchoff added that the new capability lets officials tell residents "what to do instead of just sounding the sirens," and that "we are preparing the residents of the county today to ensure their safety for tomorrow."

Registration details are specific: the LUCAS platform requires a signed-up contact to deliver voice calls, text messages or emails, while traditional landlines not provided through a cable company were automatically included using 911 database records, Fire Chief Dean Van Nest said. Registrants can opt out, but officials encourage people not to. At present, roughly 3,800 people are registered to receive alerts covering weather events such as hurricanes, burn bans and freezes, as well as evacuations and other emergencies.

The county secured the system through a purchase from Blackboard Connect Inc., with the City of Alice and Jim Wells County splitting an annual fee of $14,654, Van Nest stated. Alice retains the ability to send city-only alerts while Jim Wells County will send countywide notices that include Orange Grove, Ben Bolt and Sandia. Coordinators Patrick Thomas and Lance Brown noted the program has been used in forms over time, saying it "has been around for roughly a decade" as part of their mix of communication tools.

Officials also encourage registration with the State of Texas Emergency Assistance Registry, STEAR, as an additional resource during evacuations. County leaders are asking neighbors across the Coastal Bend region to visit the Jim Wells County website, click the LUCAS logo and complete enrollment so emergency managers can deliver targeted, timely instructions when every minute matters.