The next meeting will be on july 10th at 5pm at the
Winthrop Library
Zoom invitations will be sent out the week before. Watch for the email. Hope to see you there.
Okanogan County Wide Burn Ban
Okanogan County will be transitioning from a Burn Restriction to a full County Wide Burn Ban this Friday, July 11, 2025 at 12:01 AM (midnight).The Burn Ban prohibits all outdoor burning of combustible materials which may include, but are not limited to recreational fires, yard vegetation or waste, non-emergency agricultural burning, exploding gun targets, bullet tracer rounds and charcoal.Propane fire pits allowed.For more information and Propane Fire Pit restrictions visit Okanogan County Emergency Management Website: https://www.okanogancounty.org/government/emergency_management/new_page/index.php
Issued: 07-07-2025, 06:02 PM
STAY INFORMED
Signing up for Okanogan County Alerts assures that you receive time-sensitive notifications for hazards affecting your specific home address or workplace.
When Opting-IN:
You must provide an Okanogan County street address and verify the address before we can notify you via your chosen method(s) (Email/Phone/Text).
If you have already Opted-IN, log into your account at least once a year to verify your account information.
If you can't remember your login information, please contact us at (509) 422-7206 or to obtain your username and/or reset your password.
New Account:
OPT-IN HERE
To update or verify your Information:
LOGIN HERE
Additional Options:
To view a list of Okanogan County Notifications ONLINE go to Current Everbridge Notifications.
To view notifications in Spanish, select "Spanish" from the Language Translate drop-down menu (upper right corner of webpage).
To receive non-emergency or county-wide text notifications issued anywhere in Okanogan County, text OKCOUNTY to 888777.
To receive notifications about a city/town in Okanogan County text the zip code to 888777.
Text notifications can be stopped by texting STOP to 888777.
Audio Board
If you missed a call and would like to hear the recorded notifications dial (509) 740-0602. This is a recorded message (not a live person).
Facebook
Follow "Okanogan County Emergency Management" on Facebook where notifications and good-to-know information are posted, along with photos and videos.
We DO NOT monitor Facebook 24 hours a day. For a quicker response, email us at em@co.okanogan.wa.us or call (509) 422-7206.
Self-Responsibility
Okanogan County Emergency Management (OCEM) will use all means possible to notify you of any hazards in order for you to take action regarding your safety.
DO NOT WAIT for OCEM or First Responders to notify you of a hazard; take action if needed.
SELF-RESPONSIBILITY is your first resource.
If it is an Emergency call 9-1-1 for a Non-Emergency call (509)422-7232 and select option 4 (Okanogan County Dispatch)
OCEC WILDFIRE MITIGATION PLAN
Okanogan County Electric Cooperative Moved to 'Red' Status of Wildfire Mitigation Plan
(7-2-2025)
The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for North Central Washington, including the OCEC service territory within the Methow Valley (Zone 704). As a result of this red flag warning, OCEC is moving to the “Red” level of our Wildfire Mitigation Plan.
OCEC Operations has set all automated line reclosers, including the Substations, to “non-reclose” following our Wildfire Mitigation Plan. Disabling reclosers, either in elevated fire risk or red flag warning conditions, has the effect of both lengthening the duration and increasing the number of outages while minimizing the risk of fire. A recloser is an automatic high-voltage electric switch that operates much like a circuit breaker in your home. When the reclosers are set on “non-reclose” the breaker will operate/open, and the line will be de-energized until OCEC crews can manually inspect the line for problems. Once the line is manually inspected and is confirmed all-clear, the line will be re-energized. This will possibly create longer, more frequent outages during these times.
Taking these proactive fire safety steps may cause more frequent and longer outages, but we hope that our members will understand that the benefits of reduced fire risk outweigh the increase in possible outages.
When the red flag warning expires, or conditions change enough to warrant it, the OCEC Operations crew will return to “Yellow” level, and OCEC will update our website to reflect the current status. For more information, you can view the alert at Spokane Weather Service (offsite link), and you can review our full Wildfire Mitigation Plan at www.ocec.coop.
To report an outage, please call (509) 996-2228.
If you have not already signed up for our text message alerts, please call
(509) 996-2228 during office hours or go to the Member Services section of ocec.coop to sign up for the text alerts.
We encourage all members to have their own wildfire preparedness plan in place including establishing your own loss of power emergency plan for your household.
Below is our Wildfire Mitigation plan weather alert matrix.
