Missoula County Plans To Use Texts To Alert.

The Office of Emergency Services in Missoula County reports that by next spring residents will be able to receive alerts through text messages.

Currently the department has 60,000 landline numbers it can use to send alerts for emergencies. Those nearest the emergency receive the messages first.

The department director says a web portal will be set up where people can put in their cell phone numbers. He also says the agency is looking at other avenues to inform the public about emergencies, like Twitter.