BOISE COUNTY, Idaho – The Boise County Sheriff’s Office is reporting an increase in emergency calls from smartwatches from skiers and snowboarders in Bogus Basin, prompting officials to warn people about the safety feature.

Many smartwatches have a fall detection setting that triggers an emergency call to 911 if it detects that the wearer has fallen. The watches usually offer a 1 minute countdown to actually trigger the police call. But officials say users often don’t see or hear the alarm under winter clothing. According to the Boise County Sheriff’s Office, dispatchers will field between 10 and 30 robocalls on busy ski days from the mountain.

“Every call must be treated as a potential emergency,” the Boise County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release, noting that these false alarms strain limited emergency resources.

Officials are urging winter sports enthusiasts to either disable fall detection features while skiing or to be vigilant in responding to warnings. MPs stressed that while the technology serves an important safety purpose, accidental activations can impact response times to actual emergencies.