- The San Luis Obispo County Early Warning System sirens will be tested on Saturday, August 22
- Tests will occur at 12 p.m. and 12:30 p.m.
- Each test will last 3 minutes
A warning for Central Coast residents: On Saturday, August 22, you may hear a siren, but it's no cause for alarm.
The County of San Luis Obispo Office of Emergency Services and Pacific Gas & Electric Company will conduct the annual Early Warning System Siren Test.
The sirens will be activated twice, once at 12 p.m. and again at 12:30 p.m. for three minutes each.
During each of these siren tests, all 130 sirens across the county will be activated.
The Early Warning System sirens cover the area from Cayucos in the north to the Nipomo Mesa in the south and east through the City of San Luis Obispo. Communities north of the Cuesta Grade and Cambria do not have sirens and will not hear the test.
Although the siren system is tested throughout the year, this annual test is the only time the sirens are sounded simultaneously.
The siren system can be used for any local emergency when there is a need to take action, such as evacuation or sheltering in place.
"The Early Warning System sirens are primarily used for emergencies at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant. However, they may be used for other types of emergencies if public action is required. Those could include a tsunami, a dam failure, or anything like that," said San Luis Obispo County Emergency Services Coordinator Kaitlin Munds.
During a real emergency, the sirens are an indication that the Emergency Alert System (EAS) has been activated, and you should tune into a local radio or TV station to receive emergency information and instructions.
This will be the first time the test will be run from the county's new Public Safety Communications Center in Templeton.
