Missoula County emergency director urges residents to sign up for Smart911 and prepare evacuation plans

Adrienne Beck, director of the Missoula County Office of Emergency Management, told The Agenda podcast on July 15 that residents should register their phones and addresses with Smart911 so the county can send geotargeted alerts to homes under threat. “We use a software called Rave Mobile Safety, which has a component, called Smart 9 1 1. People can go to smart911.com to create a safety profile,” Beck said.

Beck said the county’s system emphasizes a two-stage approach to evacuation: an evacuation warning to put people on notice and an evacuation order when it is unsafe to remain. “An evacuation order is us saying it is not safe for you to stay here anymore. We’re asking you to leave,” she said. She urged families to discuss ‘what if’ scenarios, designate trusted neighbors as contacts and prepare multiple contingency plans for where to go and what to take.

Why it matters: Missoula County is entering a hotter, drier period that can rapidly increase wildfire activity and change where and how a fire moves. Beck noted that modern phone usage—cell phones not tied to a fixed house address—makes registration with Smart911 important for targeted notifications, and she encouraged residents to assemble a go bag with documents, prescriptions and other essentials.

Beck said county resources and tailored checklists are available on the county website for households with children, pets or special needs. The county also aims to combine Smart911 geotargeting with door-knock attempts by law enforcement when feasible, but she cautioned that fast-moving incidents can limit guaranteed in-person notification.