Posted
On April 8, 2026, representatives from several Washington County response agencies participated in a training exercise to practice issuing emergency alerts (full list of participating agencies below). This exercise is part of a year-long project which will conclude on May 4.
The exercise used simulated real-world incidents to task first responders with determining if an emergency alert was needed. If the simulated incident required an emergency alert, Washington County Consolidated Communications Agency (WCCCA) 9-1-1 dispatchers would issue the alert through the PublicAlerts system, Everbridge.
Importantly, this project enables emergency response agencies to issue emergency alerts like evacuation and shelter in place, faster and more accurately to targeted areas of the county.
Working with the company Genasys, Washington County is divided into geographic alerting zones. Washington County responders reviewed and refined each alerting zone, which will replace the verbal and hand drawn maps used up until this point. Now, on scene responders can choose from pre-established zones to immediately alert impacted communities.
Active alerts, resources for impacted individuals, information about the incident, and safety tips can be found on Washington County’s Current Incident webpage (www.wcor.us/emergency) when an emergency is occurring.
The public is also urged to sign up at www.publicalerts.org/signup to make sure they are ready to receive emergency alerts.
Agencies who participated in April 8 exercise:
- Washington County Emergency Management,
- Washington County Sheriff’s Office,
- Washington County Consolidated Communications Agency (WCCCA),
- Forest Grove Fire and Rescue
- Hillsboro Fire and Rescue
- Hillsboro Police Department
- Cornelius Fire Department
- Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue
- North Plains Police Department
Agencies who participated in the yearlong project:
- Washington County Emergency Management
- Washington County Sheriff’s Office
- Washington County Consolidated Communications Agency (WCCCA)
- Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue (TVF&R)
- Police, Emergency Management, Public Works, and Fire Departments from:
- Hillsboro
- Beaverton
- Forest Grove
- Tigard
- Sherwood
- Tualatin
- Banks
- Cornelius
- Gaston
- North Plains
Photos and videos available on request