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Thousands of residents missing emergency alerts in Arapahoe and Douglas counties after system changes

Arapahoe and Douglas counties switched emergency alert systems after a cyberattack last year, leaving at least 100,000 residents unregistered as fire season ramps up.
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John Henderson
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Thousands missing emergency alerts after Arapahoe, Douglas system changes
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Thousands of residents across the Front Range may miss out on life-saving emergency alerts because they have not registered for new county notification systems.

Multiple Colorado counties moved off the old Code Red system after a cyberattack last year. Officials said previous registrations did not carry over to the new platforms, leaving many residents unknowingly disconnected.

▶️Watch: Thousands missing emergency alerts after Arapahoe, Douglas system changes

Thousands missing emergency alerts after Arapahoe, Douglas system changes

In Douglas County, officials said 120,000 people were signed up under the old system. Only about 23,000 are enrolled in the new one.

"One thing that a lot of people don't realize is that when those counties made that transition, if you were previously signed up, that sign up is no longer. Essentially, you're no longer registered," Matthew Assell, South Metro Fire Rescue spokesperson, said.

Douglas County officials said they have been trying to get the word out online and on social media since making the switch to DougCoAlert several months ago, but people simply haven’t noticed.

"They might not even necessarily know that Code Red went down and it's kind of one of those things, like, once you sign up, it's — you never really have to think about it again," Taylor Davis, division chief of support services for the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, said. "I'm just hoping that the more we talk about it, the more people will start to realize how important it is.”

Arapahoe County made the switch to ArapAlert around the same time as Douglas County.

The new systems offer more comprehensive features, including detailed personal profiles and specific area alerts, unlike the limited Code Red system.

Low signups are especially concerning when county leaders think about the residents in the rural parts of Douglas and Arapahoe counties.

"Out on the eastern plains, you're going to see wildfires. The sooner people can get notified of that, that that is occurring somewhere in their area, the sooner they can take action, especially with the way the winds can get going out in that area," Cathy Raley, executive director of the Arapahoe County 911 Authority, said.

"Our concern is that we might have some sort of catastrophic event this summer, and we're not going to be able to get that word out to the community in time," Assell added.

It's not just fires, according to county leaders — the notifications are essential in keeping residents safe during shelter-in-place orders, severe weather or even boil water notices.

Arapahoe County resident Don Krueger told Denver7 he signed up for the county's emergency alert notifications a while ago.

"I haven't done it in a long time," Krueger said.

After learning about the system changes, Krueger said he plans to register for the new ArapAlert system.

“Just with what's coming up, the drought that we're in right now, and wildfire season is coming up, the more we can get messages out to people, the better,” said Raley. “We're very, really wanting to the people to know we want them to be safe. We want to take care of everybody who is in Arapahoe County.”

If you live or work in Arapahoe County, you can sign up for ArapAlerts here.

If you live or work in Douglas County, you can sign up for DougCoAlert here.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.


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