They know the intent, but the Door County Emergency Management and Communications Department still does not know how many residents received an emergency notification on their cell phone earlier this week. Many Door County residents received the notification on their phone on Wednesday warning them about a critical incident in their neighborhood while advising them to shelter in place. The county’s 911 center received several calls on the issue, prompting Door County Emergency Management and Communication to tell residents to disregard the message as it was not sent by them. The notification, which was sent through the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), was meant for Racine County residents. At the same time the notification was sent, a similar message was sent there warning their residents about a standoff between federal agents and a Racine man who later shot himself after releasing several adults and children.  Emergency Management and Communications Director Dan Kane says it is still a mystery how Door County residents received the message.

Kane encourages people to keep the IPAWS Alerts active and to sign up for Door County’s emergency alerts so you can stay up-to-date as issues arise in the area. If not, you can manage your emergency alerts by toggling through your phone’s settings.