Community Corner
No Nuclear Disaster, Just Siren Testing
Quarterly "growl testing" for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station emergency sirens will commence Monday through Aug. 14 throughout Orange County.
From the city of San Clemente:
Federal regulators require the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station to briefly test all 50 regional sirens four times a year. When this is done, the sirens are briefly turned on to full power, one at a time, each making a short but loud noise. This is called a “growl test.”
If there were a real emergency, the siren blast would last for 3 minutes. During a radiological emergency, all 50 regional sirens will be sounded at the same time for a full 3 minutes.
Find out what's happening in San Clementewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The 3 minute siren blast will be followed by an Emergency Alert System Message on radio (107.1 FM / 600 AM) and television which will provide instructions.
Siren growls are always performed on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Nineteen of the 50 sirens are located in the city of San Clemente.
Find out what's happening in San Clementewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Depending on weather conditions and your location you may hear one of the other 31 sirens in the region. Also, when SONGS conducts drills, it uses its plant alerting sirens. These can also be audible within the city.
- Camp Pendleton: Aug. 6 and 7
- Dana Point: Aug. 7 and 8
- San Juan Capistrano: Aug. 8 and 9
- State Parks: Aug. 10
- Orange County: Aug. 10
- San Clemente: Aug. 13, 14 and 15
Please contact the City’s Emergency Planning Program at (949) 361-6145 or email Jen Tucker, Emergency Planning Officer at tuckerj@san-clemente.org.
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