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Citizens are encouraged to create a new account with Citizen Alert

City switches from Nixle to Everbridge Citizen Alert

In June 2023, the City of Ashland switched the alert notification system from Nixle to the Citizen Alert Everbridge system. Everbridge is the parent company of Nixle. Due to a recent State contract with Everbridge, the system is now available free of charge to Oregon cities and counties (see background section below).

Everbridge Citizen Alert will allow the City of Ashland to continue to send out alerts during an emergency, or for advisories such as power outages, smoke or street closures. The alerts may be targeted to specific areas; for example, if a power outage only affects a certain area of Ashland, addresses in that area may receive an advisory as to when the power may return.

Anyone in a household with a smartphone, or even a smartwatch, should create their own online account for Citizen Alert – this includes pre-teens and young adults. Creating an online account will allow users to manage their account and make changes as needed, for example, an address change or a new place of employment. Users prioritize how they want to receive alerts--- via text (smartphone), landline or email. In addition, the system will accommodate multiple addresses for each user account, such as home, office, school or the address of a loved one.

Sign up today at ashland.or.us/Alerts.

All Ashland residents are strongly encouraged to sign up for the Citizen Alert System, even if they had an account with the previous system, Nixle.

BACKGROUND on switch from Nixle to Everbridge Citizen Alert:

The City paid Nixle, an alert notification company, $5K per year starting in 2018 to send out alerts. The cost was set to increase substantially in 2023
In 2015, Everbridge, another alert notification company, purchased Nixle and began a long process of phasing out Nixle contracts like that of the City of Ashland
Recently, the State of Oregon contracted with Everbridge to provide the same emergency alert system for the entire state at no charge
The City officially switched from Nixle to Everbridge Citizen Alert on June 1, 2023
Ashland’s Nixle database of community contacts was transferred over to the new Everbridge account

PREFERRED Sign-up Method with Everbridge Citizen Alert (Online for maximum control):

Create a new account online with Everbridge Citizen Alert, even if you signed up previously with Nixle – Go to ashland.or.us/Alerts. Creating an account online will sign you up for alerts for Ashland AND Jackson County.

ALTERNATIVE sign-up Method with Everbridge Citizen Alert (Text only):
Text 97520 (message field) to 888777 (recipient) for Ashland alerts.* This will allow alerts to be sent via text ONLY – Targeting specific areas to those who sign up with keywords will not be possible, as this is only available for those who create an online account with Citizen Alert, ashland.or.us/Alerts.
* For text alerts from Jackson County, text JACKSONEVACS (message field) to 888777 (recipient) to receive information about all level 1, 2 and 3 evacuation notices in all of Jackson County.

Our thoughts are with those in Lahaini, HI
“The City of Ashland is holding the citizens of Lahaina, HI in our thoughts. Ashland has to be better prepared for wildfires and all emergencies. We know from our history that emergencies are going to happen. For more information on what to do now, visit ashland.or.us/BetterPrepared,” stated Kelly Burns, Emergency Management Coordinator for the City of Ashland, in conjunction with the Ashland School District and Southern Oregon University. For information on the Maui wildfires and how to help, visit RedCross.org.

#end

Released August 11, 2023