Emergency siren tests underway in Teton County

Emergency managers in Teton County, Wyoming will be testing outdoor warning sirens beginning today and continuing through Friday.

The sirens are located at Teton Village, Teton Pines, Wilson, downtown Jackson, Gregory Lane and Adams Canyon. Contractors will be performing routine maintenance and making sure the sirens are operational. A new siren will be installed at Hoback Junction to replace a faulty device that was previously located there.

During the tests, people may hear a few short bursts, but for no longer than one minute at a time.

Emergency Management Coordinator Rich Ochs said he would like to get feedback from the public about where they can and cannot hear the warning sirens.

The sirens are designed to warn people who are outdoors that something is wrong. They are not intended to penetrate inside buildings, where other warning devices are more effective. In addition to sirens, Teton County Emergency Management employs text and e-mail alerts to subscribers of the Nixle notification system, cell phone alerts through Teton County’s FEMA Wireless Emergency Alerts, messages to local broadcasters via the Emergency Alert System, and through social media.

“Most people associate outdoor warning sirens with tornadoes,” says Ochs. “Our sirens are for all hazards and hearing a three-minute siren wail means that you should tune to local radio, All-Hazards Weather Radio, trusted online local media, or your phone for an alert to find out what is going on.”

Sirens come into play when or if the county loses internet, cell service, phone lines or power. “Sirens are resilient because they don’t use complicated infrastructure to operate,” added Ochs.

You can find more information about the siren system here.

And to provide input on a siren survey, visit the Warning Siren Survey here.