With active wildfires still burning in around Boulder County, including the Stone Canyon Fire near Lyons, record heat and dry conditions, and predictions for a “real” wildfire season this year, it is crucial to stay informed.
Multiple evacuation orders were issued across the county this week, and more may be coming. There are three main elements to notifications in Boulder County: the BOCO Alert system for urgent evacuation alerts targeted to your location, which uses software called Everbridge; Boulder’s Office of Disaster Management’s new text messaging system for an array of frequent information and alerts; and the ReachWell app for people who need information in languages other than English. These services are not specific to wildfires.
Boulder Reporting Lab created this guide to explain these three resources and help you opt in for your safety if a disaster strikes.
Urgent evacuation notices: BOCO Alert via Everbridge
It is essential to sign up for BOCO Alert because this service issues alerts specific to your location. This is how you learn if you’re under a mandatory evacuation order. It uses software called Everbridge, which employs multiple communication channels — including SMS, email, voice calls and TTY/TDD for people who need hearing assistance — to ensure messages are received even if one channel fails. It is targeted and designed for crisis situations.
Notably, these alerts are not sent by the Office of Disaster Management (ODM), but by first responders on the scene, who send evacuation orders to a 911 dispatcher. The dispatcher then sends the alert to BOCO Alert and the ReachWell app for translation (see below).
You can register up to five addresses with BOCO Alert, which ODM emergency management coordinator Kim Scott explains is helpful for when your loved ones are in different locations.
“If you have children in schools, or family members that are at senior centers often or at work, BOCO Alert is very helpful to have when the emergency might not be where you are located but could be at those other locations that you would want to know about,” Scott told Boulder Reporting Lab.
Even though BOCO Alert is the quickest way to receive immediate life-safety notices, emergency management coordinator Monika Weber said that as of mid-July, only 40% of the county’s residents were signed up for BOCO Alert.
How to sign up for BOCO Alert:
- Go to www.BOCOalert.org.
- Create an account:
- Click “sign up” on the gray bar below the BOCO Alert header.
- Enter your name, email, username, password and location information.
- Verify your address to ensure accuracy.
- Provide contact details for communication (e.g., SMS for texts, cell or home phone for calls).
- Accept the terms of use and click “create account.”
- Additional information:
- Enter extra phone numbers, a secondary email and TTY/TDD information, if needed.
- Set your locations: Register up to five locations.
- Choose subscriptions: Check all subscription options to receive all alerts.
Tip: Add the number 303-441-1400 to your contacts and set it to bypass silent or focus mode to ensure you receive emergency alert calls and they don’t go to spam.
Notifications to circumvent social media: Boulder’s Office of Disaster Management new text messaging system
The newest addition to Boulder County’s opt-in alerts is a text message emergency notification system released by ODM on July 9. For wildfires, these alerts provide updates on the size of fires, evacuation orders issued and lifted countywide, the state of firefighting efforts, the location of shelters for people and large animals, road closures, instructions such as urging people not to fly drones in fire areas, and other details.
Previously, ODM would only post this information through social media or on its website. However, due to algorithm changes on Twitter/X and other platforms, as well as communication issues during past fires like the Sunshine Canyon Fire, ODM developed this system to deliver information straight to your phone.
“When you’re being evacuated or in an emergency, some folks can’t really go to a website to find information. So we try to meet everybody where they’re at and provide different means of communication,” ODM emergency management coordinator Kim Scott told Boulder Reporting Lab.
These alerts are not location-specific, so they are sent to anyone who signs up, regardless of whether they are in the fire-affected area. This benefits those directly affected or seeking general fire information, but it can be overwhelming if you only want alerts that impact you personally. The system sent 59 alerts this week as of last night. Often, these alerts contain little information and require users to click through to see the full details. Its usefulness may vary depending on personal preference.
“We are fortunate in that we have a lot of options, where some communities across the country have a wireless emergency alert, and it takes someone 45 minutes to send that out,” Weber said. “We’re on the flip side, I believe it’s a wonderful curse to have — like, we have all these options, trying to dial that down.”
How to sign up for ODM’s text messaging:
Text “BOCOinfo” to 888777.
Information in languages other than English: ReachWell app
What if you need evacuation alerts and general disaster information in a language other than English? Download the ReachWell app. You can opt into both the BOCOAlert and BOCOinfo channels, which will translate evacuation orders and the ODM text messaging alerts. However, you will receive them as notifications from the app on your phone rather than as text messages. The app can translate incoming messages into 130 different languages.
“If you download both of these [channels], then you can have a complete picture in one location,” Scott said. She mentioned that ReachWell is not address-specific and will provide alerts for all of Boulder County, which she is aware some people might find overwhelming.
“The ReachWell app gives you everything. It oversees Longmont, the City of Boulder, Boulder County and CU,” she said. “You get all of the information, but it could be too much for some folks.”
Zuben Bastani, ReachWell’s founder and CEO, told Boulder Reporting Lab that now is the time to set up the app — not during a disaster.
“It’s important that users are downloading the app and setting their language up prior to an emergency. That way, they can be certain that all their communication is going to be translated.” (We tested it during this week’s fires in my home language, and it worked.)
How to sign up for ReachWell:
- Download the app: Install ReachWell on your mobile device. It is available for both iPhones and Android devices.
- Open the app: Once installed, open the app and tap the “+ Add” button.
- Search for alerts: In the “search by name” field, type “Boco.” Both “BOCOalert” and “BOCOinfo” will appear. Tap on each to ensure a blue check mark appears to the right, then click “+ add.”
- Complete signup: You are now signed up to receive emergency alerts for Boulder County on ReachWell.
To change the language of messages:
- Access language settings: Return to your ReachWell homepage and tap the button on the lower left of the screen. By default, it may display “English.”
- Select your language: Scroll through the list to find and select your preferred language. All future messages will be received in the chosen language.
The app is not perfect. When we tested the app, only a few languages were available for translating previously delivered messages on both channels: Simplified Chinese, Nepali, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese.
Bastani said they are working to make more retroactive translations available for the Boulder County channels. ReachWell’s translations are done through AI, but Scott noted that if a message is unclear, a first responder can retroactively edit the translation. Bastani mentioned that a new, more accurate model is in development. “When seconds equal lives, we can’t wait 10 to 15 minutes for translations,” he said.
Importantly, ReachWell does not require users to share personal information. “The permission settings for ReachWell are abnormally low compared to other apps because we highly regard personal privacy,” Bastani said. He wanted undocumented and immigrant families to feel safe using the app.
Bastani noted that users can add channels outside of Boulder County, such as NOCOalert, if they frequently travel outside the area. And although BOCO Alert only sends messages in English, Monika Weber, an emergency management coordinator at ODM, encourages non-English speakers to sign up, too.
“If you’re asleep at 3 a.m. and don’t wake up to ReachWell making a sound, you’re not getting the alert,” Weber said. A phone call is more likely to wake someone up. “Even if there’s a language barrier, it at least tips you off to check ReachWell.”
Other recommendations: Watch Duty app, trust your gut, ‘grab list’ over a ‘go bag’
Another application that can alert users to wildfires in the area is Watch Duty. The app is a nonprofit effort run by first responders, dispatchers and reporters who track official outlets and radio to keep users informed about nearby wildfires. Watch Duty is available for desktop, iPhone and Android.
Weber of ODM also urges people to trust their gut.
“You are always your first notification,” Weber said. “If you hear, smell, or sense that something is wrong, take action to keep yourself safe rather than waiting for formal alerts.”
ODM also recommends that residents familiarize themselves with at least two evacuation routes from their neighborhood and create plans with neighbors, especially if someone requires additional assistance.
Weber has shifted from recommending go-bags to suggesting a “grab list” that includes a set of p’s: people, pets, papers, prescriptions, pictures, personal electronics, personal valuables and plastic (a method of payment). The grab list is ranked by priority and placed in an easy-to-access location, like the fridge or the inside of a kitchen cupboard, so anyone can quickly see what to take in an emergency.
ODM hosts emergency preparedness workshops for the public. The next one is in Nederland on Aug. 13. Weber said attendees will receive a LifeStraw, a backup battery pack and other preparedness equipment. More workshops can be found here.
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