Throughout San Diego last week, many residents were awakened by a very important call.  Known as the "Reverse 9-1-1" system, phone calls were made by San Diego's Office of Homeland Security alerting residents to the need to evacuate.  While my home in Carlsbad was never evacuated, areas only a few miles away were.  I use Vonage for my home phone and had some concerns that I would not be included in any "Reverse 9-1-1" calls.  After some research, I learned that you can register your VOIP and cell phone numbers with the City.  If you use VOIP or a cell phone instead of a land line, you should visit http://www.sandiego.gov/ohs/reverse911/index.shtml and register your phone numbers.  While the City is looking into ways to include VOIP and cell phones, they can only target land lines at this time.  The most recent fires seem to be dying down, but you'll be ready for next time.

And if you don't live in San Diego, reach out to your local government to see what is being done to implement a "Reverse 9-1-1" system in your area.  We in San Diego are glad the City implemented this program because a lot of people were able to evacuate safely.