Cochise County emergency services urges residents to sign up for Ready, Set, Go alerts; offers sandbag guidance

Dan Deshaun, director of Emergency Services for Cochise County, urged residents to sign up in advance for location-based emergency alerts and outlined the Ready, Set, Go evacuation framework used statewide.

Deshaun said localized storms can cause serious flooding even in a season with below-average monsoon totals. “You could see flooding in one specific watershed or one specific wash,” he said, adding that a small storm in a canyon can cause significant damage.

The Ready, Set, Go program, standardized across Arizona and promoted by the Arizona Sheriffs' Association, gives staged guidance: “Ready” means prepare in advance (for example, gather the “five P’s” — pets, prescriptions, papers, personal items and priceless items), “Set” means a hazard is nearby and you should start getting ready, and “Go” is an evacuation order. Deshaun said the county aims to limit alert fatigue by reserving “Go” notifications for life-safety threats and encouraged residents to follow guidance when an evacuation is issued.

Deshaun gave practical sandbag instructions for residents who pick up free sand and bags from some public works sites: fill bags two-thirds full, fold the open edge over, stack bags so seams do not line up and keep a sandbag wall as wide as it is high to avoid tipping. “You can’t overfill them,” he said. He also noted there are no ready‑made, prefilled sandbags available countywide — residents or neighbors must fill them.

The director described post-fire flooding risk: wildfire can change soil characteristics so it repels water and causes rapid runoff, increasing the risk of mudslides or fast-moving flows even during modest storms. He recommended special vigilance in burned watersheds.

Deshaun gave a statistical overview of county emergency declarations: over the past 50 years Cochise County recorded 19 emergency declarations, eight for flooding, four for drought and two for wildfire. He said the county had not issued an emergency declaration for flooding so far this year but noted prior declarations in 2022 for affected communities.

To receive targeted alerts tied to an address, Deshaun said residents should sign up in advance so alerts are geotargeted to their home. He also recommended that family members register on behalf of seniors or others who need assistance so a relative will be alerted and can help. The county sign-up URL is cochise.myfreealerts.com; the system requires a short two‑factor authentication step but does not require creating a user account.

For more information, Deshaun said the alert sign-up flyer and links are posted on the Cochise County website and the county’s social media pages.