After experiencing two devastating fires in the past year — the Tea Fire and Jesusita Fire — the Montecito Fire Protection District has taken input from the community underscoring the fact that providing timely, accurate information is critical during emergencies.

In an effort to increase access to such critical information, the Montecito Fire Protection District is now utilizing Nixle to disseminate Emergency Alerts and other community information.

Nixle’s Municipal Wire lets residents subscribe to the service for free, and delivers trustworthy and important public safety and community event notifications immediately by text message, e-mail and the Web.

Other local agencies, including the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Services and the Santa Barbara Police Department, also are set up to utilize Nixle notification services.

Click here to subscribe to the free service on the district’s Web site.

— Geri Ventura is a spokeswoman for the Montecito Fire Protection District.