Sheriff's Office to test emergency mass notification system Wednesday

COEUR d'ALENE — A short test message will be sent Wednesday by the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office to all landline telephones and cell phones registered with the county's emergency mass notification system to receive alert messages.

The message, which will be sent Wednesday at 10 a.m., is being sent in an effort to evaluate the operation status of the Emergency Notification System. According to a press release from the sheriff's office, the test will be conducted with the entire county at one time.

"Residents receiving the test message do not need to do anything as a result of the test other than answering the phone when it rings," the release states. "A status of all the calls will be reported by the system for evaluation."

The release adds that the Emergency Notification System is designed to notify residents of emergency situations that affect their immediate community such as emergent incidents, road closures, neighborhood crime alerts, severe weather alerts, threats to school safety, and community events.

To receive notification of an emergency situation, register through the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office webpage, www.kcsheriff.com, or the Kootenai County Office of Emergency Management's webpage, oem.kcgov.us.