Hutchinson, Reno County rolling out new emergency alert system

Starting Thursday (March 1), toward the front end of what could be another eventful wildfire season in Kansas, the City of Hutchinson and Reno County are stepping up their efforts to alert residents of potential danger, well before it approaches their properties.

The importance of having a reliable emergency notification system in place was highlighted last year when hundreds of thousands of acres burned in the state. This included a

that destroyed at least 10 homes.

The City of Hutchinson and Reno County announced they are working with Everbridge Resident Alerts "to communicate with citizens and businesses during emergencies and other critical events."

"This system will replace the CivicReady system which was used previously," Reno County Emergency Management says. "Those residents who were registered on CivicReady will have to register on the new Everbridge system."

Those needing to receive alerts through the new system can register to do so here:

Residents can also text HUTCHRENO to 888-777 to opt into the new alert.

Hutchinson and Reno County will use the Everbridge emergency notification system to alert residents about more than just wildfires. The county says the range of alerts includes events such as floods and public-safety emergencies, as well as more routine announcements including road closures and water utility maintenance.

"Messages will be sent to residents on their preferred contact paths—cell phone, SMS, home phone, email, fax, pager and more—to ensure real-time access to potentially lifesaving information," Reno County says. "Residents listed in the Hutchinson – Reno County 911 database (land line telephones) will be subscribed to alerts by phone in the near future, but Everbridge allows citizens to self-register, provide additional contact information or opt out."

The county says the new alert system will not be linked to alerts from the National Weather Service, but it does allow "Hutchinson and Reno County to disseminate (emergency) information across all types of devices, ensuring residents have access to real-time public information when they need it the most."

With the change in alert systems, Michele Abbott with Reno County Emergency Management, says being able to target people living in a certain area is important.

"The geo-fencing part of it is very important to me," Abbott says. "The example I can give is if an anhydrous tank is driving down the street and there's a problem with it, and we have an immediate need to target a specific geo-diverse location. We can draw a parameter around that, say shelter-in-place, evacuate, and immediately get those that are registered within that area and/or will be in that landline database that we have."

Since the new alert system dos not send out National Weather Service information, Abbott stresses for residents to use other sources readily available, including the Storm Team 12 app.

For further information on the Everbridge Resident Alert system and its advantages, visit the