County continuing plans for Hill-wide emergency warning system

At its Oct. 25 meeting, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved increasing funding to plan for an emergency outdoor warning system (OWS) and travelers’ information stations (TIS) for the San Jacinto Mountains area. The intent is to improve public alert and warning systems. Idyllwild’s Mile High Radio Club (MHRC) has been pursuing this project for several years.

The increased planning costs were about $125,000 and will come from a Homeland Security Grant.

The board also approved a mitigated negative declaration for the project, which was circulated for the 30-day public review period from Aug. 4 to Sept. 3.

Nearly a year ago, the supervisors approved the project in-principle at their Sept. 21, 2021, meeting. At that time, the planning portion was expected to be $210,768. With this addition, planning costs will be about $335,000.

During this time, planning costs increased for due diligence of permitting multiple sites, and developing and approving owner agreements for county and non-county-owned sites. Also, the staff said that environmental analysis and mitigation measures were developed to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act and National Environmental Protection Act.

The county warning system is different from, but complements, the Idyllwild Fire Protection District’s (IFPD) plans for sirens within the Idyllwild area. It also will not replace WNKI (Idyllwild emergency radio station 1610 AM) but will extend its coverage and capability north to Poppet Flats and south to Pinyon Pines — along the corridors of highways 74 and 243.

“It’s an all-encompassing warning system,” said Bill Tell, MHRC president, said when the board initially approved the project.

“This will help us in the long run,” said IFPD Chief Mark LaMont. “But in the next fiscal year, we plan to add an additional siren in Idyllwild, which will give approximately 95% total coverage.”

IFPD’s sirens are the only outside noise notifications of an emergency on the Hill. Currently, the county’s notification system relies on telephone systems to alert residents and businesses that might be endangered by an emergency event or a disaster.

The system uses phone numbers in the region’s 9-1-1 database to contact listed and unlisted landline telephones. It is TTY/TDD capable. If and answering machine picks up the call, the system will leave a voice message.

The county, in collaboration with IFPD and MHRC, identified locations for upgrading and installing the OWSs, along with integrating the existing TIS system.

Initial planning has identified 37 possible OWS sites that include four TIS sites. Potential sites may be located in the following communities: Castille Canyon, Twin Pines, Anza Valley, Idyllwild/Pine Cove, Mountain Center, Pine Meadows and Pinyon Pines. The specific sites include existing fire stations, county property, local water districts, schools and private associations such as the Boy Scout camp.

Once planning and design are completed, construction, which includes procurement, installation, testing and activation of the system, will be implemented in phases depending on the ability to get real estate agreements in place and obtain entitlements.