Canada's emergency alert system has been busy with wildfires and extreme weather. Here's how it works

With the increase in wildfires and other extreme weather events this year, more Canadians have been receiving emergency alerts on their phones, or through other media, directing them to take precautions or even evacuate their homes. 

The alerts come via Canada’s National Public Alerting System, used for everything from Amber Alerts and alerts about dangerous people to storm warnings and evacuation orders. But most are about weather — and the number sent due to extreme weather, and especially wildfires, has soared in recent years. 

In 2021, it sent 175 alerts to Canadians, and 113 of them were related to extreme weather, according to Alert Ready the alert