The Summit County Sheriff’s Office declined to issue a correction for an emergency alert that mistakenly pinged cellphones outside the Rocky Canyon Fire evacuation area because officials didn’t want to confuse residents who needed to leave their homes. On Sunday afternoon, the law enforcemen t agency sent an alert notifying Henefer residents of an evacuation order spurred by the Rocky Canyon Fire. However, residents in other parts of Summit County and Salt Lake County also received the message, which led to confusion about the fire’s scope and affected neighborhoods. The Sheriff’s Office in a press release said the department “did not have a complete understanding of what had occurred” at the time and initially believed the notification had reached its intended audience. “The notification dashboard available to us was indicating that only 107 phones had received the alert, while information coming back from the community indicated that the alert had reached phones well beyond the intended geographic area,” the press release said. “This discrepancy made it difficult to determine the actual scope of the issue and who may have received the alert.” The press release explained the Sheriff’s Office decided not to send a second alert correcting the mistake to avoid creating “even greater confusion.” “Our concern was that people who needed to evacuate could receive conflicting information and mistakenly believe the evacuation order no longer applied to them,” the press release said. “While we recognize that the initial (alert) caused significant confusion for many residents, our decisions were guided by one priority: protecting human life and preventing further confusion for those who needed to evacuate.” The agency has reviewed its alert system and said “everything appears to be functioning properly” as of Monday afternoon, but the program’s software technicians have been notified of the incident “to ensure the system is functioning properly on their end.” The press release called the mistake an “isolated occurrence” and indicated the Sheriff’s Office will continue using the alert system as the Rocky Canyon Fire unfolds. However, the department plans to undertake “a more comprehensive investigation” into the accidental notification “when circumstances allow.” The Sheriff’s Office acknowledged the fear and confusion the alert caused for many residents and apologized for the situation, saying the department is committed to uncovering what happened and addressing any unresolved issues. “We understand how unsettling it was for residents to receive an emergency alert that did not apply to their location,” the press release said. “We know our community must have confidence in both the emergency alerting system and the Summit County Sheriff’s Office’s ability to effectively manage and communicate during an emergency. We take that responsibility seriously and do not want this incident to undermine that trust in any way.” The Sheriff’s Office also shares information on wildfires and other public safety emergencies online, and the department reminded residents to check the county website and social media pages for updates.  Details on the Rocky Canyon Fire, including community meetings and evacuation orders, are available by visiting tinyurl.com/4yptafas. The post Summit County Sheriff’s Office did not correct widespread emergency alert to avoid ‘even greater confusion’ appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less