News file photo of a 911 dispatcher at work in Alpena County

ALPENA – Alpena County will test its outdoor warning sirens as scheduled on Saturday, July 4, at 1 p.m. The test is part of the county’s regular monthly maintenance program to ensure the system remains reliable for alerting residents to sudden severe weather. Kim Elkie, director of the Alpena County Office of Emergency Management and E911 Services, confirmed the test will proceed following team discussions.

“We had a discussion as a team and we are going to move forward with our regularly scheduled testing on the Fourth of July, especially considering some of the weather we have had recently,” Elkie said.

The county maintains eight outdoor warning sirens, most located within the Alpena, with the others scattered around Alpena Township, including sites along U.S. 23 North, U.S. 23 South near Bare Point Road, and west of town. Elkie noted that some geographical areas of the county remain beyond the reach of the siren network.

“The sirens are for weather that pops up out of nowhere like tornados and severe thunderstorms,” Elkie said. “They are not for winter storms where we typically know it’s coming ahead of time; they are for warm weather events.”

Sirens are activated only for verified life-threatening situations based on information from trusted sources. Testing is conducted on the first Saturday of each month at 1 p.m. once temperatures are consistently at or above 64.4 degrees Fahrenheit so the batteries inside the units are not damaged. While the sirens can operate at cooler temperatures, the battery requirement leads officials to avoid routine testing during cold months.

“We receive notices electronically from the state when the National Weather Service issues a warning and we also have a severe weather radio,” Elkie said. “In our policy the reputable sources that we are able to fire the sirens from are from electronic notification from the state, the National Weather Service, radio, television, or a trained weather spotter.”

The current sirens use VHF technology. Elkie said the county performs preventative maintenance annually and makes any necessary repairs at that time. While newer technology exists, officials are not pursuing upgrades at this point because the existing system continues to perform as intended.

“If we had a weather event and it was not warm enough for the sirens to function optimally, we would fire the sirens,” Elkie added. “If that resulted in damage to the sirens from the cold, we would just have them repaired and deal with it.”

The siren system forms one important component of Alpena County’s multi-layered emergency notification strategy. Elkie strongly encourages residents to register for the CodeRED Emergency Notification System, which delivers critical alerts directly by phone, text message and email for severe weather, emergency evacuations, road closures, boil water notices, police activity, fires and other public safety threats. Registration is free and simple: visit the Alpena County website and follow the prompts or text “ALPENA” to 24639. Users can select multiple notification methods for better coverage.

When sirens sound, residents should immediately seek shelter indoors on the lowest level of a sturdy structure, away from windows, and check reliable sources such as local media, weather radio or the county’s alert systems for specific details about the threat. The tone alerts people outdoors or in the vicinity to take protective action and gather more information.