VIDEO: The system is less than a week old, but already more than 1,000 residents have signed up for Ravalli County's new emergency alert system and with the areas past experiences with fires, floods and snow local authorities are hoping a majority of people will follow suit.
While the Bitterroot is a beautiful place to live, residents can also be on the edge of danger -- especially with the potential to be surrounded by wildfire. That's been a problem for emergency managers, with a population that may still be using land lines, or trying to get a cell signal.
"A significant amount of people that do not have a landline," noted Ravalli County Sheriff Steve Holton. "So, they operate just off their cell phones, of electronic or smart devices of some kind."
That's where the new Hyper-Reach system comes in, replacing an earlier system that had a number of problems.