BILLINGS — While Yellowstone County once relied on a siren to alert residents of extreme weather, including tornadoes, the area has since shifted to a more modern alert system.
With severe weather hitting the region this weeks, county leaders are using the opportunity to remind residents how to know when danger is coming.
Watch officials discuss the evolution of emergency alerts in Yellowstone County in the video below:
Yellowstone County now uses an app called Everbridge for emergency alerts, but it wasn't in place during the one of the most serious weather disasters in recent memory: the Father's Day Tornado in 2010.
During that storm, the county used sirens, but their performance led to a change in strategy in 2019, according to former Yellowstone County Commissioner Denis Pitman, who led the effort to deactivate them in 2019.
"The authorizations of communication didn't happen fast enough, and they didn't actually go off until after the storm was done," said Pitman.
Pitman also said that getting parts to fix the sirens was getting difficult. Some sirens remain standing but will remain inactive.
Replacing the sirens was an app called CodeRED.
"Whether it's shelter in place, whether it's an active shooter, the emergency apps are actually more effective now in getting information to people and what needs to be done in a certain situation," said Pitman.
CodeRED lasted a few years and was replaced by a new app, Everbridge, in 2024.
"We were doing a lot of different things. Speaking to every group we could talk to, talking to seniors, to childcare providers, to the schools, anybody who would listen," said Pitman.
Efforts to advertise the new emergency alert systems have fallen short. MTN News spoke with 15 people in downtown Billings this week, and only one had heard of either app.
Derek Yeager, Yellowstone County director of disaster and emergency services, said in an email that the county shifted to an app that could notify residents about a range of local news, including fires and sports events.
Yeager reminded Billings residents to join Yellowstone County Informed on Everbridge for city updates.
Click here to download Everbridge in the Google Play store for Android users.
Click here to download Everbridge from the Apple App store for iPhone users.
