Voyent Alert! now live in Kamloops, available for emergencies this summer

KAMLOOPS — The Voyent Alert! system, which can notify people of emergency situations like wildfires or floods, is now online and available for residents of Kamloops.

The app will provide Kamloops residents with critical information immediately during emergencies like last summer’s Juniper wildfire that evacuated the entire community.

“What it means is the city’s able to push out emergency alert notifications to our residents through our own account,” said city communications supervisor Kristen Rodrigue. “Last year we piggy-backed on the TNRD’s account and were able to send evacuation alert notices to communities through their account. This year, we have our own.”

The alert system was not available during the Kamloops East fire in Juniper, motivating the city to fast-track the process of implementing such an emergency alert.

However, the city says the alert system won’t replace current emergency strategies like tactical evacuations by the RCMP. It will simply ensure residents are updated with the latest information, including any evacuation alerts or orders in your neighbourhood.

“By the time we are able to send an alert through Voyent. RCMP would already be knocking on doors and getting people out of their homes,” noted Rodrigue. “In an emergency situation that’s so quick-moving like Juniper, a tactical evacuation would still be the preferred and necessary method to get people out of their homes.”

The app also has the ability to notify people if they’re unknowingly driving into an evacuation alert or order zone.

Kamloops Fire Rescue says having the Voyent Alert! system now live means everyone has the same information. Chief Steve Robinson believes it will make firefighting work less challenging with fewer people in a danger area.

“From a messaging point of view, we want traffic to go to a certain area and we specify certain routes because sometimes people take a different route and put themselves in a worse position,” said Robinson. “So I think that is really critical and that will be a great tool for the city.”

The city will use Voyent Alert! this spring with a potential for flooding, as well as the summer during wildfire season. Beyond that, the city plans to use the system for simple notifications about watermain breaks.

Kamloops residents who signed up for the TNRD alert system last summer will automatically be signed up for the City of Kamloops alert system.

For more information on the Voyent Alert! app or to sign up, you can click here.