At their Oct. 1 meeting, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved additional funding for an Idyllwild and San Jacinto Mountains Emergency Outdoor Warning System and Travelers’ Information Stations.
The project was originally approved in September 2021. The first phase was planning. The initial amount appropriated for this phase was $88,000. In October 2022, the Board approved an additional $124,981 for planning.
At that time, Idyllwild Fire Chief Mark LaMont said, “They have taken a first step for what will be an absolute beneficial product for those living and visiting the Hill.”
Former Mile High Radio Club President and member, Bill Tell, who was very much involved in the conception of the project, was surprised at the length of the planning. “It’s troubling they’re taking this long, I don’t know why,” he commented.
Four years later, the staff report to the Board, requesting additional funding, indicates that the Phase 1 planning is complete. However, “Due to a delay in obtaining funding and receiving a portion of the anticipated total project costs, the scope of Phase 2 of the Project has been reduced to the procurement and installation of only the TIS [Traveler Information System] equipment.”
The initial Phase 2 was to have included purchase of the emergency warning equipment, too.
The County Facilities Management and Emergency Management Departments, who are responsible for the project, now believe there will be three to five more phases before it is fully operational.
At that time, they will seek a separate contract for its management.
The project was initially conceived ten years ago. In late 2014 during the revision of the original Community Wildfire Protection Plan, the public raised many questions about emergency communications. The Mile High Radio Club used that springboard to develop a strategic plan which proposed the development of this project, including its needs and benefits.
While Idyllwild’s local FM station, WNKI still broadcasts emergency messages and status reports, the mountainous terrain limits its service area.
This system does not replace WNKI, which the Idyllwild Fire Protection District manages, but will extend its coverage and capability north to Poppet Flats and south to Pinyon Pines – along the corridors of Highways 74 and 243.
IFPD will be moving the broadcast location to a new communication site near High Castle, according to LaMont.
Since the Federal Communication Commission licensed WNKI in 1987, many more people now reside throughout the Hill and visitation has become a year-round phenomenon as has fire season.
