City of Dunsmuir

Audible Alert System

The Dunsmuir-Castella Fire District has six sirens in operation, assigned numbers 2-7. Four of these sirens provide coverage for portions of the City of Dunsmuir, with the remaining two in the Catella portion of the Fire District. Of these four sirens, three are Federal Model 2 sirens, and one is an air horn siren.

The four sirens are located in the following locations: south to north.

• The Dunsmuir Cemetery (Siren 2)

• Dunsmuir Fire Hall (Air horn siren) (Siren 3)

• Dunsmuir Community Center (Siren 4)

• North Dunsmuir Water Tank (Siren 5)

The two sirens located south of Dunsmuir are located in the following locations: south to north.

• Castella Fire Station (Siren 7)

• Crag View Fire Station (Siren 6)

While Sirens 6 and 7 provide coverage outside the City Limits of Dunsmuir, Siren 6 does cover the City's water treatment plant. The sirens can be activated with pre-programmed codes simultaneously or individually over the radio on CAL FIRE Siskiyou Local Net.

types of Notifications

The Siren system is used to alert residents to emergency situations (like evacuations) and to notify the Fire District firefighters of fire calls. Additionally, the Siren system also goes off daily for a noon test. The following is a list of the different types of Siren Notification in Dunsmuir.

• Fire Call - 5 seconds on, 5 seconds off, five times.

• Noon Signal - Single Activation for 5 Seconds (Performed daily at 12:00 PM)

• Evacuation Order - 2 seconds on, 2 seconds off for 2 minutes.

• Alert - 30 seconds on, 5 seconds off for 2 minutes. This tone is used to alert the public to take an action other than evacuation, i.e. shelter in place.

• Test - Single activation for 2 seconds. Used to test sirens if a report of a siren not working is received

New Evacuation Siren Policy

The City of Dunsmuir, the Dunsmuir Fire Department, and the Siskiyou County Sheriff have worked together to create a new Evacuation Siren Policy.

Every day, you hear the Noon Signal, a 5-second siren tone. And you probably even recognize the Fire Call Signal, a 5-second on, 5-second off tone that repeats 5 times when there is a Fire Call for the Fire Department. But did you know there is an Evacuation Signal?

When will the Evacuation Siren sound?

The Evacuation Siren will only sound when an Evacuation Order is issued for the City of Dunsmuir. The Siren will not sound for an Evacuation Warning.

Why is this? The Evacuation Siren is reserved for the most dire of situations. An Evacuation Warning means “There is a potential threat to life and/or property. Those who require additional time to evacuate and those with pets and livestock should leave now.” While an Evacuation Order means “Immediate threat to life. This is a lawful order to leave now. The area is lawfully closed to public access. YOU MUST LEAVE NOW!”

This is why an Evacuation Siren will only sound when an Evacuation Order is issued.

What will the Evacuation Siren sound like?

When an Evacuation Order is issued for Dunsmuir, the siren system will sound a 2-second on, 2-second off tone that repeats for 2 full minutes. This tone will sound faster than the fire call signal and last much longer—long enough for you to check Ready Siskiyou so you know where to go. 

Why doesn’t the tone last longer than 2 minutes? The Evacuation Siren tone lasts just 2 minutes because it’s just long enough to alert you something is happening so you can check Ready Siskiyou. By the time you are reading the Evacuation Order, the siren will stop, and you’ll know what to do. A more prolonged Siren could make it difficult for first responders to communicate via radio.

We are working on a future yearly test of the Evacuation Siren so that residents will become familiar with what it sounds like.

More details to come!