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After Eagle County officials responded to seven small wildfires in less than a year, they felt it was critical to begin providing emergency alerts to residents in a swifter, more effective way — and in multiple languages.
About a year ago, when Eagle County officials began working with leaders at ReachWell — an organization that runs a cell phone app that translates emergency alerts into more than 130 languages — they didn’t know much about platforms that can interpret or translate emergency alerts.
Now, people in Eagle County, who have the app downloaded onto their phones can receive traffic alerts and reports about wildfires and flooding, said Fernando Almanza, deputy emergency manager for Eagle County.
“The ease of translating emergency alerts into many different languages helps exponentially rather than trying to find 50 to 100 translators at the same time for every single notification,” he said.
Nationwide, there are 213 organizations, including schools, child care centers, local governments and agencies now moving their alerts and other critical information about community resources through the ReachWell app.
Some of the notifications can be as simple as providing information about new services offered at a nonprofit, for example, while others can be lifesaving in nature, such as alerts that give details about evacuation orders.
The app is important, especially now, ReachWell leaders said, as counties are running their own campaigns to increase awareness about emergency notifications to help ensure Coloradans can receive reliable alerts amid wildfire and flooding season and as extreme weather events become more common.
“There’s so much disinformation out there that it stresses many people out about what’s true,” said Zuben Bastani, president and founder of ReachWell, who lives in Denver.
People trust the app, Bastani said, because the messages are sent by sources they trust, including human service providers, schools and behavioral health organizations.
“Our mission is to make sure communities are educated, supported and protected,” Bastani said.
In Colorado, about 90,000 people are using ReachWell, and nationally, about 180,000 people are engaging with the app, which launched in 2018, Bastani said.
Zuben Bastani, on May 22, 2024, at the Posner Center for International Development in Denver. ReachWell, an app Bastani founded and launched in 2018, is a messaging and emergency notification app that promotes community engagement for people who speak languages other than English and have visual or hearing disabilities. (Olivia Sun, The Colorado Sun via Report for America)
In Colorado, 10 counties have integrated their alert systems with ReachWell to provide translated notifications including Boulder, Eagle, El Paso, Garfield, Jackson, Pitkin, Delta, San Miguel, Larimer and Teller counties.
On May 14, The El Paso-Teller County 911 authority announced its partnership with ReachWell to bolster its alert and warning system, Peak Alerts, making it the most-recent Colorado county to begin sending notifications through the translation app.
Since July 2023, 1,096 emergency messages have been sent through ReachWell, Bastani said.
A small county pays about $2,500 per year to be able to send alerts through ReachWell. The annual fee increases if an organization chooses to add features to their service plan such as translated emails, phone calls or text messages.
When consumers download the app, they can follow any organization they wish to receive alerts from, select their primary language and then receive alerts that are automatically translated into the language they most fluently speak.
People with visual or hearing disabilities can receive audio or video notifications to help them receive translated alerts.
App users are not asked to share their contact information or location, key questions that can cause lower income and undocumented families to decide not to use apps that ask for that information.
“With some of the legislation that’s being passed and some of the trends we’re seeing around accessibility standards and how everybody deserves to have access to communication, I think it’s so important that ReachWell be available to all residents regardless of their citizenship or documentation status,” Bastani said.
Addressing gaps in emergency communications through legislation
Gaps in delivering emergency communications, especially for non-native English speakers during the Grizzly Creek fire and the Marshall fire, were so acute, the issue drew the attention of journalists and Colorado lawmakers.
In 2023, legislation mandated that the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado conduct a study by July 1 to identify best practices that could help local governments, 911 authorities, sheriff’s offices and fire districts most effectively provide emergency alerts in different languages.
The bill also required that the Natural Hazards Center submit its recommendations in a report to the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management in the Department of Public Safety and to the General Assembly by Jan. 8.
The findings of the study were released earlier this year and found emergency alerts in Colorado need to be more inclusive to effectively warn more than 250,000 people living in the state who speak a language other than English and more than 500,000 people with hearing and visual disabilities.
Dictated text is shown in Spanish on the ReachWell app, which offers emergency alerts and other important information, in 130 languages. (Olivia Sun, The Colorado Sun via Report for America)
According to the study, Colorado’s current alert systems make it difficult to provide consistent and accessible emergency alerts, especially for people with disabilities and people who speak English as a second language or not at all.
The state relies heavily on opt-in emergency alert systems, even though most municipalities report low opt-in rates, of below 40%, according to the study.
Emergency response officials want to use systems and practices that would make alerts more inclusive, but need more guidance, funding and staff to adequately do so, study leaders said.
Many schools have used ReachWell for years, but since House Bill 1110 became a law in 2021, more organizations have come onboard to use the app, Bastani said.
House Bill 1110 made it illegal for people with disabilities to be excluded from or denied access to services, programs and activities offered by public entities or state agencies.
Under the law, public organizations and state agencies must have developed an accessibility plan and must fully comply by July 1.
“ReachWell certainly helps our partners reach that level of compliance,” Bastani said.
Rep. Elizabeth Velasco, a Democrat from Glenwood Springs, said one goal of hers is to address an issue faced by many non-native English speakers, who cannot access critical information during medical emergencies such as during the COVID-19 pandemic and amid weather-related events such as amid the Grizzly Creek Fire.
The Grizzly Creek fire spread rapidly and shut down Interstate 70 for two weeks.
At the time, about 30% of her district’s population was Latino and the need for emergency communications in Spanish was critical as the county sent out evacuation orders, notifications about road closures and air quality alerts.
“There was a lot going on and I jumped in to help as an interpreter and translator,” she said. “I recognize the importance of language access, especially when it comes to an emergency. This is the worst day of someone’s life.”
When the fire ignited, the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office didn’t have a system that allowed it to share notifications in different languages, Velasco said.
Local residents began asking for wildfire-related information in Spanish, and a few days after the blaze started, the Glenwood Springs Fire Department asked Velasco to translate daily updates.
Soon after, she began working as an interpreter with the U.S. Forest Service and a national incident management team, offering translation services during community meetings.
Zuben Bastani, May 22, 2024, at the Posner Center for International Development in Denver. The app, which launched in 2018, has helped Colorado officials and organizations translate critical information and aims to keep people who speak a foreign language informed and connected to vital services. (Olivia Sun, The Colorado Sun via Report for America)
Offering translation services about commuting became a major part of the information she translated from English into Spanish while I-70 was closed.
Detours were five hours long and an off road trail, Cottonwood Pass, that opens during the summer was being used by locals to reduce the long wait time while traveling to and from work, she said. “But not everyone knew about it,” she said of the local road.
“This is really about public safety and everyone being able to have information to make informed decisions,” Velasco said. “The fire season is not just in the forest anymore. We’re seeing major fires in urban areas and it’s a priority of the state to make sure our local partners are able to share this information with the community.”
Velasco was the lead co-sponsor of the bill that required the Natural Hazards Center to conduct the study that provided recommendations for improving Colorado’s emergency response system.
“I wanted to work on creating more structure when it comes to how organizations and governments send out emergency alerts,” she said. “They must have a plan and they need support,” she added. “Right now, we don’t have enough of that. This was just the start. I’m hopeful we can work together with our state agencies and departments and local governments to come up with some guidelines and support. We have to make sure we’re investing in serving everyone.”
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