Thank you for your readiness to sign up for emergency notifications from KitsapAlert. Our Community Warning System (CWS) is used only when it is necessary to relay critical safety information in the event of a disaster or local emergency. Please fill in your name, phone number(s), email, and address on this registration page. (No additional information is needed.)

While the vendor’s registration page includes the branding “Smart 911” this system is NOT utilized by our local 9-1-1 call center and first responder partners. We also urge you to sign up for Community Connect which IS utilized by first responders in Kitsap County.

KCDEM encourages everyone who lives or works in Kitsap County to sign up for KitsapALERT and to invite friends and neighbors to do so as well. KitsapAlert subscribers have the options of being notified via text, email and/or phone call when an incident happens in proximity to their home or work address. The notification will provide basic information about the incident and required actions to protect life and property. KCDEM moved to our current CWS vendor January 1, 2023. For privacy reasons, KCDEM was unable to transfer subscriber information from the previous platform to the new one. Thank you for signing up on our new platform!

These could include messages to: 

• Evacuate
• Shelter in place 
• Stay out of the area
• Turn on your radio for more info

KitsapALERT is not used for: 

• Standard weather updates
• Road conditions
• Traffic status messages 

Subscribers to KitsapALERT can opt to receive messages through multiple communication channels. Options include: 

• Text message 
• Phone call  
• Email

Additionally, KitsapAlert emergency notifications will also be posted on:

• The KCDEM web site
• KCDEM Social media channels

KCDEM, along with other agencies like the National Weather Service,  is also able to send out out emergency notifications in a manner similar to Amber Alerts to cell phones in an impacted area. You must have the “emergency alerts” and  “location” settings on your cellular device turned on to receive these notifications.

Across the nation, Community Warning System alerts use a combination of urgency, severity, and certainty to help the public make informed decisions. 

Urgency describes the time available to prepare.  Urgency could be: 

• Immediate: Responsive action should be taken immediately 
• Expected: Action within the next hour 
• Future: Action in the near future (typically 6-24 hours) 
• Past: No preparatory action needed 

Severity describes the intensity of the impact.  Severity could be: 

• Extreme: Extraordinary or large-scale threat to life and property 
• Severe: Significant threat to life and property 
• Moderate: Potential threat to life and property 
• Minor: Limited threat to life and property 

Certainty describes the alerting authority’s confidence that the event will occur or has occurred. Events could be: 

• Observed: Definitely occurred or occurring 
• Likely: Likely, although not certain (p>50%) 
• Possible: Possible, but not likely (p<50%) 
• Unlikely: Not expected to occur (p<5%) 

• Active Shooter messages to stay out of an area.
• Wild Fire messages to evacuate or shelter in place, depending on whether the emergency was fire or smoke.
• Hazardous Materials messages to shelter in place.
• Missing Person message to be on the lookout.
• The National Weather Service is the agency that issues severe weather alerts like extreme heat and Tornado Warnings.

• Community Connect:  The fire agencies of Kitsap County provide this free, secure, and easy way for Kitsap residents to provide information about their households to our first responders. By providing information about you or your residence that you feel is important for emergency response personnel to know, steps can be taken to ensure you and everything you care about can be better protected. 
• Kitsap County road closures
• Kitsap County Inclement Weather page
• Kitsap Transit rider alerts
• City of Bainbridge Island Emergency Notifications: Get text message emergency alerts for severe weather, road closures, traffic issues and more. Text 98110 to 888777
• City of Poulsbo Emergency Notifications: Get text messages emergency alerts by texting POULSBO to 888777
• Kitsap Public Health District Notifications: To subscribe on this link to the Kitsap County Electronic Notification System page, enter your email or mobile phone number. Once you subscribe, look for Kitsap Public Health in the alphabetical listing of notification topics.
• Washington State Depart of Transportation: Receive current traffic conditions, mountain pass reports, construction updates and more.
• Washington State Ferry Alert App: Receive the latest service updates for any route via text or email.
• Puget Sound Energy Alerts and Advisories: Updated information is provided on this page in the event of widespread power outages, severe weather or other significant emergencies.
• National Weather Service – Methods of receiving weather warnings (PDF)

• Common Alerting Protocol (source: FEMA)
• IPAWS (source: FEMA)
• CAP Definition (source: Oasis)
• Common Alerting Protocol (source: Wikipedia)