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Summit County launches new alert system for Spanish-speaking community

The Parleys Canyon Fire and the coronavirus pandemic highlighted the need for accessible information

The Summit County Courthouse.
Park Record file photo

One day before Summit County officials presented their new emergency bilingual communications plan, they had their first taste of how the system worked when a hazardous materials incident closed portions of Interstate 80.

“It seemed, at least based on what we know now, that our plans stood the test of its first emergency,” said Derek Siddoway, the county’s communications director.

Siddoway told the Summit County Council that as the county works to make information more accessible, it’s been developing a new communications plan to reach the Spanish-speaking community better. He said the efforts began before the pandemic started with the hiring of Bailey Edelstein, the county’s multicultural communications specialist – but the program’s importance was underscored as coronavirus cases continued to climb.



The Parleys Canyon Fire last year and the confusion that ensued over evacuating was also a catalyst, Siddoway said. Following the fire, several agencies from the Summit County Sheriff’s Office to Park City Emergency Management started meeting in November and December 2021 to discuss what they could learn and how to address gaps in emergency services.

They drafted a plan in January 2022 and reviewed it the next month with the emergency managers from Summit County and Park City as well as Eric Esquivel, the supervisor of Latino education affairs for the Park City School District.



From their meetings, the two-part plan unfolded. Siddoway said the first part is the process in place now to ensure that Spanish communications are issued with English emergency alerts. The second part of the plan is a new text line, called NIXLE, that’s been set up throughout the county.

Siddoway said the initiative has helped send alerts throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and was used before fire season last year, but the new text line is specifically for people who speak Spanish. He characterized the line as an “all-hazards” resource for the community that alerts them to weather events, road closures or wildfires.

Originally, Spanish-speaking individuals visiting the county’s website had to navigate different alerts in English or rely on automatic translation tools provided by the website.

“We looked at some other options to streamline that,” Siddoway said. “We just want you to come to one place and one channel where we can give you this information.”

When an incident such as a forest fire, chemical spill or flood occurs, the county will send out two copies of an emergency alert in English and Spanish using a location-based alert system called Everbridge. Community members who have opted into the text line also receive a follow-up notification with basic information about the incident and a phone number to call for more information.

Siddoway said when I-80 closed on April 19, the Spanish alert went out 30 minutes after the English one because of how long it took to translate the message. He said they’re working on cutting down the time it takes to get the alerts out by offering training opportunities to become certified to issue the alerts.

If the incident is ongoing, the county will update its community phone line in both languages, which includes information about the situation. The county and its community partners will share the information across social media.

County staffers said it was important to have the auditory component of the phone line to keep communication pathways accessible and plan to offer a video component whenever possible. They’re also partnering with certain bilingual individuals in the community to help communicate with the Spanish-speaking community during times of crisis.

Moving forward, Siddoway and Edelstein are planning to present the plan to the mayors of other municipalities and the Council of Governments in May. In the same month, they hope to start distributing the communications plan and marketing materials throughout the community. In the spring, the county will seek feedback from community leaders as it makes improvements.

Siddoway said their efforts go beyond the emergency alert system and will be focused on improving overall outreach in Summit County’s Spanish-speaking community. He said the county plans to host small-scale conversations with Spanish-speaking families to learn what topics they want to be notified about and how.

“This is just an ongoing part of our general outreach and engagement whenever wildfire season comes around when winter comes around and we talk about winter storms. And if we’re ever fortunate enough to have flooding season anymore, to talk about that,” Siddoway said.

To sign up for the county’s text alerts in Spanish, text SUMMITALERTA to 888777.

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