Full Notification

Hi, Sonoma County. We’re in the middle of fire season and are hearing lots of questions about how the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office uses Nixle. Every agency uses Nixle a little differently because they are trying to best meet their community’s needs. Our Nixle strategy is based on community feedback, program costs, and lessons learned since 2017.

When we send a Nixle text message, we want to get your attention. This is why we send Nixle texts for urgent and emergency situations, such as a missing child, shelter in place order, or evacuation. Click on the blue link when you get a Nixle text to read the full message with all the important details. We do not send Nixle texts or emails for press releases. Instead, we post those on social media.

We send text messages to people who are registered near, and potentially affected by, the incident. This is called geo-targeting.  For example, if there are evacuations in Agua Caliente, you won’t get the evacuation order if you live in west county. We post evacuation information on social media so you can still get the information if you’re interested.

Our contract with Nixle allows us to send messages about Sheriff’s Office issues only.  We cannot send Nixle messages on issues like traffic on unincorporated roads or smoke in the air.

Here are some helpful hints for fire season:

• Go to www.nixle.com to sign up and manage your account to have more control over the types of messages you receive. You can also get help at www.nixle.com/resident-faqs/.
• Consider downloading the Everbridge app (Everbridge owns Nixle). It may be an easier way for you to receive Nixle messages if you have WiFi but poor cell reception. Keep in mind that you will only receive messages on the app and will no longer receive text messages.
• During fire season, be sure to keep your cell phone charged, near you, and with the ringer turned on while you’re sleeping. 
• Don’t forget to also sign up for SoCoAlert to receive emergency alerts from the County. Redundancy is important because there is no perfect alert system. You can sign up and find emergency alert information at www.socoemergency.org/get-ready/sign-up/. 
• Follow the Sheriff’s Office on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. We post bilingual information on these platforms 24 hours a day throughout a disaster. 
• Identify your official, reliable sources of information now so you have them ready during a disaster. Excellent sources include the Sheriff’s Office, CAL Fire, your local fire agency, and the County’s emergency website (www.socoemergency.org).