ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Buncombe County’s emergency alert system is back online, officials said, urging residents to sign up to receive real-time safety updates as wildfire season continues across Western North Carolina.

The system, known as BC Alerts, allows users to receive notifications about severe weather, wildfires, public safety incidents, county closures and other urgent information through text messages, phone calls or email.

“We are in the midst of wildfire season in Western North Carolina, and it’s so important that we get critical messages to our community in real time,” Buncombe County Fire Marshal Kevin Tipton said. “If there’s one thing I would tell people to do today to prepare, it’s to sign up for BC Alerts.”

County officials said the system has been upgraded to the Smart911 platform by Rave, improving the speed, reliability and flexibility of alerts. Residents who previously subscribed through the Code Red system must create a new profile to continue receiving notifications.

BC Alerts is free and available to anyone who lives, works or visits Buncombe County. Subscribers can customize how they receive alerts and what types of notifications they get.

In addition to the opt-in system, officials said the county will use the federal Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, or IPAWS, during major emergencies to automatically notify people in affected areas with life-safety information. Those alerts are sent regardless of subscription status, similar to Amber Alerts, though users are encouraged to ensure emergency alerts are enabled on their devices.

Officials emphasized that BC Alerts will never request payment or sensitive personal information, including banking details.

Residents can sign up by texting “BCReady” to 67283 or by visiting the county’s website to create or update a profile.