MendoAlert, the Mendocino County Emergency Alert and Notification Service

The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office and Office of Emergency Services use Everbridge as our mass notification and emergency alert vendor for Mendocino County. All residents are urged to immediately register for the alert and notification system in order to receive critical emergency and life safety notifications.

Register today get timely emergency notifications and alerts which may save your family's or your life!

How to Sign Up!

Visit the Everbridge Registration page to Sign up for the MendoAlert, the Mendocino County Emergency Notification and Alert System

As part of the registration process you will be asked to provide contact information (phone, email, cell phone number, etc) and address(es) for the system in the order you would like to be contacted. The system allows the registration of multiple address as well. Mendocino County OES recommends you register with you home address and then add an additional address (work, family members address, children's school, etc) if you wish to receive notifications about emergencies in multiple areas.

Additionally registrants will be asked to provide voluntary information such as any special skills or certifications they may have (for example, special medical or emergency response training such as volunteer firefighter or EMT ) or if they have any access or functional needs (for example: hard of hearing, mobility challenges, blind, non-English speaker, etc). This information is completely voluntary but will assist OES in emergency response efforts and getting resources to the people which need it quicker.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What is MendoAlert?

This service allows you to opt-in to receive notifications via phone calls, text messaging, e-mail and more based on locations you care about. You can choose to receive notifications about events that may affect your home, workplace, family's schools and more.

What is the difference between MendoAlert (Everbridge) and Nixle?

MendoAlert (Everbridge) is the primary system used to notify the public during emergencies and disasters in Mendocino County. Recently in August 2018 Mendocino County integrated MendoAlert with Nixle, which allows users to register for both MendoAlert and for Nixle and to receive messages on both platforms. Both MendoAlert and Nixle are considered opt-in systems which generally means that residents must sign-up to receive alerts and notifications. 

Below is a quick overview of each system:

MendoAlert

MendoAlert (Everbridge) is the primary means of notification used by Mendocino County. This system allows registered users to receive emergency alerts and notifications via text message, phone calls, and email. Users can register multiple communication methods (home phone, cell phone, email, etc) and addresses to better ensure vital messages are delivered successfully. Alerts and notifications are sent to a specific geographic area and only registered users in that area are notified. For example, a resident living in Fort Bragg would not be notified of an emergency in Hopland. 

Nixle

Nixle is a secondary notification tool which is integrated with MendoAlert. Generally, Nixle only sends notifications via text message to cells phones, however, residents who register online may also receive email notifications as well. Residents can register for all notifications affecting their zip code by texting their zip code to 888777 or can register for all Nixle alerts sent in the Mendocino County by texting MendoAlerts to 888777. Mendocino County generally sends MendoAlert notifications to Nixle as well, but not always. We highly recommend that all users registered with Nixle also register with MendoAlert.

Which system should I register for, MendoAlert or Nixle? Or both?

Mendocino County OES recommends that if users decide to only register for a single notification system, they register for MendoAlert. MendoAlert is the primary system used to send notifications to the public during emergencies. MendoAlert also has the ability to register multiple addresses and notify you multiple ways (phone, text. and email). This means that during emergencies in which cell phones may not be operating but landlines are, MendoAlert can still notify you. Generally, Nixle relies solely on cellular text message to notify you.

Ultimately, the best way to ensure you receive the vital emergency information is to register for both systems and register as many communication methods as possible (register your cell phones, landlines and email). The more methods we have to communicate with you the more likely we will be able to successfully reach you.

I registered for MendoAlert, but haven't received a notification when a friend/family member did, is the system working?

If you have registered for MendoAlert and did not receive an alert when you know someone else did, chances are you are not in the affected notification area. MendoAlert sends notifications only to a specific geographic area and only registered users in that area are notified. For example, a resident living in Fort Bragg would not be notified of an emergency in Hopland. This is to ensure that notifications are sent rapidly to the people who need them the most and to decrease the number of alerts sent to people not directly affected by an incident.

If you would like to receive alerts for a wider geographic area via text message you can register for Nixle. If you would like to receive all Nixle alerts affecting your zip code you can text your zip code to 888777. If you would like toe receive all Nixle alerts in Mendocino County you can text MendoAlerts to 888777.

If you are concerned about not being properly registered you can login to your Everbridge (MendoAlert) account and verify your address(es) and contact information is correct.

What sort of alerts might I receive?

This system will be used to notify you about imminent threats to health and safety as well as optional informational notifications that affect your locations or work environments. Administrators will send notifications regarding severe weather, flooding, gas leaks, police activity and more.

How do I know if I am registered already?

Residents should not assume that their information is automatically in the system. Unless residents have created an account and registered with Everbridge or with Mendocino County OES directly, then there is no guarantee your information is in the system. If you registered for an account prior to March 2015, it is recommended that you re-register.

If you do not remember if you have registered for an account please visit the site sign-up page and try to register. When signing up the system will let you know if your email has already been used to register an account. If you have already registered an account with your email but don't remember your username or password please click "Forgot username" or "Forgot password" to reactivate your account.

Mendocino County OES recommends that residents review their accounts at least annually to ensure their information and contact details are accurate and up to date.

For Nixle, Mendocino County OES has no way to verify what alerts (if any) you a registered for.

How many notifications will I receive?

Mendocino County OES will only use this system in the event of an emergency situation which may pose a potential threat to life, safety, or property and for occasional routine tests. Mendocino County OES attempts to only send alerts and notifications to the areas affected by the emergency situation. Typically most residents will receive 1-3 emergency alerts/notifications a year, unless you choose to receive informational notifications such as road closure notification, in which case you may receive more.

Typically OES conducts 1-2 tests of MendoAlert annually.

Why do the alerts ask me to confirm if I received them and what does confirming do?

The majority of alerts, whether delivered by phone or text message, will ask you to confirm that you received the message. The system typically will wait 3-5 minutes between each communication method you register before trying the next registered communication method. Once, you confirm that you received that you received the alert/notification, the system will stop contacting you after that point. Mendocino County OES asks that residents confirm when they receive messages- this speed up the delivery of messages to the public and reassures us that you have received the message successfully.

For example if you register three different phone numbers with the system, the system will call each number in the order you choose with a 3-5 minute interval/wait before trying the next phone number you registered. In this example, if you confirm that you received the message when it calls the first phone number it will not call the remaining two numbers. 

Who is Everbridge?

Everbridge is the current alert and notification vendor used to power the Mendocino County Citizen Alert and Notification System. Mendocino County OES contracts with Everbridge for its' alert and notification system.