Situation Awareness
This article was written by one of our partners and is the breakdown on the apps that are by local residents and why they are all important. These apps have been tested and have proven themselves. Be aware, the group that maintains Radio 800 now stops those broadcasts during bigger fires.
Weather (Weather aware is weather prepared): We can have ice storms, snowstorms, heat waves, arctic air masses and high winds (power outage and wildfire risk): The weather apps Weather-Bug, Radar Now, Hyperlocal Weather are really good for tracking weather. We use all three. Hyperlocal we use the most. Radar Now if we are tracking a storm and need better radar coverage. Weatherbug for a quick check and they send out weather alerts to our cell phones. It was Weather Bug that alerted us that high winds were in the forecast the day before the 2020 wildfires started or expanded. We knew the day before and monitored the next day. One time, we were driving in a snowstorm and the radar on Weather-Bug showed no snowstorm. Radar Now showed our position in the snowstorm and the storm. Hyperlocal is only available for Android phones and Weather is the equivalent for iPhones.
Wildfire and Earthquake emergency communications: Scanner Radio (Broadcastify) and Pulse Point monitor local fire departments and medical emergency responses on Radio 800 frequency. Scanner Radio allowed me to monitor the fire that was burning towards our house in 2020. I heard the broadcast that the fire was contained with great relief. Pulse Point allows me to check on why that emergency vehicle went by and monitor any fires that start and are reported over Scanner Radio (Broadcastify). You are getting different information from two aspects on one event. Clackamas County DM is not notified until a fire reaches the 3rd alarm. I prefer to monitor for wildfires during fire season before it reaches the 3rd alarm when we have high winds. Both of these apps are good to monitor after an earthquake because fires can start and it allows you to track other emergencies from the earthquake.
FEMA, Red Cross Emergency, PGE and Everbridge: All four have their own emergency alert system. I have all four on my phone because I never know when an alert will be sent out by which group. PGE sends out high wind alerts and notifies people when they are going to initiate a PSPS. That was the app that also alerted us to the high winds coming and a PSPS was going to be implemented along Mt. Hood Corridor. As stated above, Clackamas County (Everbridge) is not even notified by the fire department until the fire reaches 3 alarms. Thus, if there is a fire near you, Everbridge will not be sending any notifications out to those people in that area until they are notified. I want to know when the fire starts and is smaller and then track it.
Wildfire Tracking: Watch Duty is a really good app for tracking the movement of a wildfire. It will note where the fire was reported. Then track the fires movement and wind directions four times a day using two different satellites. CalTopo also has an app, but I like the website better for tracking. Last fall I used both apps because they show the fire in slightly different ways. Good redundant systems. However, we lose both if something takes out the satellites they use. Then, they will update every time an infrared flight is made over the fire, which may be as frequent as once a day. These apps should be used with Scanner Radio and Pulse Point.
Emergency navigation: During a wildfire or after an earthquake, being able to figure out the best way to evacuate or travel is very important. If evacuating for a wildfire, you do not want to go into the fire if you can help it. Therefore, you use Scanner Radio, Pulse Point, Watch Duty and CalTopo to figure out where the fire is and where it is moving in relation to you or someone who you may need to help evacuate. You also do not want to take the same route everyone else is taking and get caught in a traffic jam. Lahaina is a good example of what not to do and the 2020 wildfires when half the County was told to evacuate, and everyone went north taking their usual routes. Therefore, Google Maps and Maps (I-phone) are the best way to check traffic and plan alternat routes. If you are blocked from accessing a road, then you may need to evacuate on foot. This is when having a compass on your phone and GPS is good for navigating to a safer place. Everyone should have places picked out where they can shelter in place if they become trapped by a wildfire.
Air Quality: There is one good app for monitoring air quality, Purple Air. However, some of the above apps will also give you air quality information.
News: If all you have is your cell phone, then you need to have a radio station that you can listen to for news updates. Radio FM is a good one because it has OPB. A lot of radio apps are just music.