There are several kinds of disasters that can seriously affect a community…. from wildfires, to severe storms, to major accidents.  In 2003, the White Mountains of Arizona was affected with such a disaster.  The Rodeo/Chediski Fire.  

After all the stress and hard work to assist the public, official realized that the community was missing something. The dire need to have a single source to relay information to the public relating to an emergency situation and it’s progress.

Before the Rodeo/Chediski Fire, the public often had to contact various agencies to find out the evacuation routes and evacuation centers, what to do with their pets, how do they take care of special health care needs, etc.  Now the public has the opportunity to utilize the joint information center; a “one-stop shopping” facility where a concerned citizen will be able to receive accurate information regarding an public incident (ie wildfire, public health emergency, hazardous material spill, natural disaster) and other pertinent information needed to facilitate desired public action.

The joint information center is activated when a threat or perceived threat becomes apparent in southern Navajo or southern Apache counties.  Whereever and whenever there is a need to communicate with the public. It can be activated at the request of an incident commander or a public information officer from a number of federal, state, or county agencies and will be de-activated when the need for a center no longer exists.

The center will provide information to be posted to the www.593info.org website.  People needing information from the center during an emergency can:

• Dial “593” and talk to a trained volunteer. The “593” system is operational now but during non-emergency times, a caller will be given a choice by county to hear a recorded message pertaining to local emergency management, health alerts or concerns, and wildfires or prescribed fires in progress.
• Visit the www.593info.org website
• Receive SMS updates from 593info on your wireless device text: “follow 593info”(without the quotation marks) to 40404 on your wireless phone
• Follow 593info on www.Twitter.com at:   http://twitter.com/593info

I have signed up and am following 593info on Twitter.  I receive text messages on my phone notifying me of potential and current threats to the community.  It’s a nice peace of mind that helps keep my family safe!  Stop by and visit their website and become a 593info follower too!