Sirens are historically entrenched in public safety and have been embraced for a wide variety of communities, applications, and conditions.
In areas where a predominant threat exists, the town siren had been traditionally adopted as a call to specific universal action.
Examples include:
- In the Midwest, sirens typically mean tornado warning, and the response is heading to underground shelters, or
- Coastal Areas have tsunami evacuation routes, and the audible alert may mobilize evacuations along establish routes to higher ground,
- During the Pioneer era, sirens were historically a call to rally volunteers at the pumphouse to put out building fires before they spread throughout the town.
In mountain country, wildfire is front of mind, with flash floods a close second. These conditions require additional information for an optimal public response, in particular the location of the hazard and the best route of escape. Strawberry has two audile warning sources, one for the Pinecrest Dam which signals a large release of water down canyon, and the other is part of the County Audible Alert System. If you are on the river and hear the horn from the direction of the dam, get uphill immediately, check all available phone/radio resources, and listen for indications of approaching water. The Emergency Alert annunciator (siren) is located near the Tri-Dam facility and is tested annually, usually in conjunction with the Everbridge Emergency Notification System conducted by Tuolumne County Office of Emergency Services (OES) and the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office (TSO) who activates the sirens via the dispatcher using an internal system platform. During those publicized tests, the County collects responses (“I heard the siren”) from residents who participate in the online survey and maps the areas to assess the effective extent of the sirens. Further, notifications sent out by the Everbridge system to registered users will include a Public Information Line call-back number: (209) 533-5151 which is only active in the event of a test or actual emergency. A recorded message provides initial information about the emergency, and callers may way in queue to speak with an agent if the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) has been activated for the incident. All Tuolumne County residents should maintain a current Everbridge profile with preferred contact methods, and addresses of interest (home, cabin, office, school, etc.) for which to receive notification in case an emergency incident area includes one or more of those locations.
Siren/Alert Information is available here: Tuolumne County Emergency Alerts
YOUR RESPONSE: When you hear a siren, immediately seek more information from an official source. Use every means available to you at your location (cell, radio, TV, landline) and follow instructions from official sources. In the absence of specific actionable direction from Everbridge, a public safety officer who may be moving through your area, or other official entity – Look out the window, and consider your surroundings. Take reasonable precautions based on your knowledge of the area and your direct observations. Look for signs of smoke or emergency aircraft activity and note wind direction. If you feel you are threatened, dial 911 and move out immediately, then continue to monitor all available information sources to update your plan of action and direction of evacuation. If you are aware of local safe areas such as fire/police stations they may be inundated but may also be rendering aid. Be flexible and take direction as it’s given and stay mindful of increased traffic on limited roadways. Do not block thoroughfares and be alert for vehicles with trailers on tight roadways who may ultimately get stuck and block other vehicles including emergency responders. The BEST response, is to follow your well-prepared plan, which means have one. Pre-think, pre-pack, and practice your response in the event you receive a notification to evacuate, then stay tuned and adjust to information as it evolves.