There are three ways to create a Watch Zone:

• Hold down on the map – drop a pin on your selected location and tap 'Add Watch Zone'.
• Search from the map – tap the search button at the top of the screen, enter an address and select 'Add Watch Zone'.
• In the menu – select ‘My Watch Zones’ and select ‘Add new Watch Zone’. From here, hold down on the map and select 'Confirm' or 'Change Address'.

The pop up message 'Alert SA only provides notifications for incidents in SA' is for information only. Select either 'Don't show again' or 'OK' and continue to create your Watch Zone.

To successfully create a Watch Zone, you will be required to enter a Name.

You can select the size of your Watch Zone's radius. This means you will receive notifications for the selected distance within your Watch Zone's circle. Remember – if the Watch Zone is larger, you are likely to receive more notifications. Although a smaller Watch Zone may mean you receive less notifications, you may not be notified about Incidents that are moving quickly.

Once you've set a Watch Zone, you may receive notifications such as:

• New incidents, advice or warning messages for a fire in your Watch Zone(s).
• A change in a fire's warning level in your Watch Zone(s).
• Total Fire Bans issued for your Watch Zone(s).

Please ensure push notifications are enabled in your phone's settings. To choose how your phone displays Alert SA notifications, select 'Settings' in your phone, followed by 'Notifications', and then tap the 'Alert SA' icon. Here, you will be able to choose how your notifications will appear on your phone.

Once your Watch Zones are created, and push notification settings are enabled, you will receive notifications for Bushfire Advice, Bushfire Watch and Act and Bushfire Emergency Warnings. Incidents which do not have these warning levels attached to them will not produce notifications.

In order to receive push notifications from Alert SA, you will need to create a Watch Zone. Please ensure push notifications are enabled in your phone's settings. To choose how your phone displays Alert SA notifications, select 'Settings' in your phone, followed by 'Notifications', and then tap the 'Alert SA' icon. Here, you will be able to choose how your notifications will appear on your phone.

Please refer to the FAQ above on how to create Watch Zones on the App.

Alert SA now allows users to receive push notifications for all types of fires within their saved Watch Zone(s), this includes grass fires, for example. The updated version of Alert SA also features colour coded warning area shapes on the map's interface.

The colour coded areas featured on the map represent the area to which a current warning message applies. These warning levels and colours are as follows:

• BLUE - Bushfire Advice Message Area
  Advice Message notifications are received for bushfires that may pose a threat to property or public safety in your Watch Zone(s). These areas are shaded blue on the map.
• YELLOW - Bushfire Watch and Act Message Area
  Watch and Act Message notifications are received when bushfires pose a localised threat to property or public safety in your Watch Zone(s). These areas are shaded yellow on the map.
• RED - Bushfire Emergency Warning Message Area
  Emergency Warning Messages are the highest level of warning regarding a bushfire. These areas are shaded red on the map and will be issued for wide area community impact when:
  • An uncontrolled bushfire is burning under Severe to Catastrophic Fire Weather conditions.
  • The risk of loss of life or threat to properties is almost certain or has occurred.

For more information about these warnings, visit the CFS website.

The recent updates on the Alert SA App allow users to receive timely and informative updates relating to all fire incidents in your Watch Zone(s), resulting in a simplified user experience when receiving bushfire information. All warnings displayed and push notifications sent from the Alert SA App are directly from the CFS and MFS.

Users will need to ensure they update the version of the App they currently have installed on their smart phones. When opening Alert SA, the App will automatically prompt users to update it. Users can also manually update their App via the Apple App Store and Google Play Store following the relevant prompts.

The Alert SA App is available for iPhone and Samsung devices. It is also supported on iPads and iPod touches.

• For iPhones, Alert SA is supported on releases 10.0 and above.
• For Androids, releases AOS 6.X and above are supported. If you are using an Android AOS 5.X device, you will note that the opening screen of the App appears distorted. However, the App's functionality will work as expected.

Please note, while users are able to download Alert SA onto Android AOS 4.X (and lower) devices, the App is unsupported and will not function correctly, displaying a 'No Network connection' error.

If you have an older device, or a device other an iOS or Android, you can still access bushfire information through the SA Country Fire Service (CFS) and SA Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) websites and set them as bookmarks or icons on your device.

You can create up to 10 Watch Zones on Alert SA.

No, you will need to recreate Watch Zones on separate devices.

If you wish to turn off your Alert SA notifications, select 'Settings' in your phone, followed by 'Notifications', and then tap the 'Alert SA' icon. You can toggle your notifications for this App on and off. If you do turn off your notifications for Alert SA, you will not receive any messages including emergency notifications or Emergency Warnings.

If you are receiving too many notifications, you may wish to consider reducing the number of Watch Zones or the size of your Watch Zones. Remember – if you have a large Watch Zone, you are likely to receive more notifications. Having a smaller Watch Zone may mean you receive less notifications, however, you may not be notified about Incidents that are moving quickly.

Alert SA will not display any Incidents on the Map or in the List View if there are no active bushfires within South Australia. You may also wish to check your internet connection. The Alert SA App requires an internet connection to display information.

If there is a Total Fire Ban in your Watch Zone, Alert SA will send you a notification on the evening prior to and morning of the Total Fire Ban.

You can find the Fire Danger Rating for your area of interest through the menu.

The Alert SA App is available only on iOS and Android devices. As technology and features change, your device may become out of date depending on its age. If you have an out of date device, or a device other an iOS or Android, you can still access bushfire information through the SA Country Fire Service (CFS) and SA Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) websites and set them as bookmarks or icons on your device.

The Alert SA App shows the last time information was refreshed at the bottom of the screen. Each Warning and Incident also has a timestamp showing the last time the information was updated. Incidents at Emergency Warning level are updated frequently. Watch and Act messages are updated several times throughout the day, or as the situation changes.

Some Incidents, such as those with Advice messages, or fires which have been burning for some time but not causing any threat, may be updated less frequently. Alert SA provides users information as frequently as possible, based on the information being provided by the relevant agency attending the Incident(s).

The Alert SA App does not provide information regarding road closures. To access this data, please visit: https://traffic.sa.gov.au/. Alert SA will look to include further enhancements to the App during 2020. To access other emergency information sources, please refer to the links in the portal below.

No, Alert SA only provides bushfire information in South Australia. For warnings in other states, please access their relevant channels.

When staying informed of hazards, it is important to never rely on one source of information as technology may fail during an emergency. Awareness of other information channels is important to help you stay informed during emergency events.

Bushfire season

Other channels to use during the bushfire season include:

• Visiting www.cfs.sa.gov.au and subscribe to bushfire warnings and other important CFS information
• Checking and following Facebook@CountryFireService or Twitter@CFSAlerts
• Listening to a battery powered radio
• Calling the Bushfire Information Hotline: 1800 362 361 (TTY 133 677)
• Talking to friends, family and neighbours

Heatwaves and storms

Other channels to use for information on heatwaves and storms include:

• Visiting www.ses.sa.gov.au for heatwave, storm, flood and other important SES information
• Checking and following Facebook@SAStateEmergencyService or Twitter@SA_SES
• Listening to a battery powered radio
• Calling the SES for emergency assistance: 132 500 or the SES Information Hotline : 1800 362 361

For all other emergency events, such as disease outbreaks, please refer to the relevant agency websites and social media accounts featured in the portal below and listen to your local radio.

To provide feedback about the Alert SA App, please email AlertSA@sa.gov.au. Your feedback will be provided to the Alert SA Project Team, and will be kept confidential. If you are in an emergency situation, please call Triple Zero (000).

If you are experiencing issues with the Alert SA App, please use the following checklist to resolve your issue in the first instance:

• Watch the instructional videos below with helpful tips on getting started with Alert SA and creating Watch Zones.
• Ensure you are connected to Wi-Fi or are using mobile data. Always be mindful of internet usage when accessing the Alert SA App. Speak with your service provider for further details.
• Enable 'Push Notifications' in your phone's settings.
• Enable 'Location Services' in your phone's settings.
• Delete and re-download the App.
• For iOS 13 users, 'dark mode' is not supported in this App release.
• If you continue to have issues with the Alert SA App, you can either email AlertSA@sa.gov.au or phone the Alert SA team on 08 8115 3939 during business hours (Monday - Friday, 9am - 4pm).