Numerous Washoe County jurisdictions launch new real-time emergency mapping tool

by | May 22, 2023

Washoe County Emergency Management, in collaboration with North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District, Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District, City of Sparks,  City of Reno, Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, and Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, is rolling out a new public safety map on Wednesday that will help residents identify the location of current large-scale emergencies, evacuation areas and road closures.  

Perimeter is a new mapping software that allows first-responders to enter incident locations and draw a perimeter around evacuation zones or map road closures, and instantly share with the public.  

This does not replace the alert notification system that residents have signed up for, but rather provides more comprehensive and up-to-date information as part of the alert. A link will come through in the alert and individuals can simply visit the public map here and see if they are in an affected area.  

“This is particularly important for tourists and visitors who may not know street or neighborhood names and may not be aware that they’re in an evacuation zone,” Washoe County Emergency Manager Kelly Echeverria said. “That’s why it was so important to us to find a tool that is user-friendly for the public and for the first-responders who will be entering information.” 

This map will only be updated during emergency events, such as flooding, wildfires, earthquakes, etc. Washoe County Emergency Management will notify the public in and around an evacuation zone when an event triggers the activation of the Perimeter application. 

Perimeter was created in 2018 by programmers in Sonoma County, California, during a season of widespread wildfires and subsequent flooding. Washoe County introduced this program to Nevada and is piloting it for Washoe County, Carson City, and Douglas County.   

You can access Washoe County’s Perimeter public map by visiting the following link: https://perimetermap.com/. No sign-up or download is required, and the map is responsive to desktop and mobile devices. During an emergency, the map will also be available at www.EmergencyWashoe.com.  

To sign up for Washoe County emergency alerts, visit https://www.washoecounty.gov/em/RegionalAlerts.php