CITY VIEWS EMERGENCY CALL SYSTEM ALERTS COULD BEGIN IN FALL.

Byline: JUDY O'ROURKE Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA -- If a big earthquake strikes, or wildfire or flooding, city officials may soon possess a tool to send electronic alerts and evacuation notices to residents en masse.

A reverse 911 system would send automated voice messages to residents' land lines and cell phones, and e-mails and text messages to handheld computers, such as Blackberrys.

``We could literally use this system to draw a radius boundary around the specific portion of the community we would need to notify,'' said Kevin Tonoian, the city's technology services manager. ``Or the whole community could be notified with two hours.''

If Santa Clarita City Council members approve the system Tuesday night, a five-year contract could be signed with Ohio-based Twenty First Century Communications, and the system could be launched in October.

The Department of Homeland Security has funded the new emergency system through a $91,000 grant.

The system can make more than 10,000 calls an hour. It can deliver prerecorded messages, or messages can be recorded from remote locations.

Alerts would also be sent to the city's emergency managers, and Sheriff's and Fire departments. In real time on an Internet-based system, first responders could be called in minutes and say whether they are available and when they can get to work. Emergency staff members would oversee the information.

The system could be a boon to many people -- especially parents -- who live in town but work outside the Santa Clarita Valley.

``A few years ago, when we had some rampant fires in Santa Clarita that were threatening the closure of the (Interstate) 5 and the 14 (the Antelope Valley Freeway) there were a couple of teachers and I on staff at a Burbank school who were trying to obtain information to make sure we could get home,'' said Judy Umeck, who is a Saugus Union Elementary School board member.

``Ultimately, with the information we did receive -- by calling the California Highway Patrol office -- we were let out early to guarantee us safe passage home before they closed the road.''

Lancaster deployed a similar system in January.

``We used it many times. Once we had some people with guns the sheriffs were cornering in an apartment complex,'' said Anne Aldrich, a spokeswoman for the city of Lancaster. ``We used it to notify the other residents in the complex to tell them to stay inside, to keep them safe.''

City officials also used it to remind people to vote.

Los Angeles County sends heat, fire, flood and earthquake emergency alerts through a less expensive crawl message on cable TV.

Residents in the unincorporated area could be added to the city's notification list, and alerts could be sent for everyday events, such as street closures and detours around construction projects.

Tonoian said the city relies on cell phone technology for communicating in the field but maintains a redundant radio system if land lines and cell communication are down.

In the past, ham radio operators have stepped in during local disasters. City personnel and first responders mass at City Hall, where the radio operators serve as a point of contact between them and the outside world.

On Monday, the Santa Clarita Emergency Communications Team -- composed of ham radio operators -- was certified in new procedures for emergency preparedness. The federal government requires first responders to train in this way.

``Electronic systems are wonderful and get the job done under most normal circumstances, but chances are very high these systems fail as a result of a large earthquake or major catastrophe,'' said Brad Marckwardt, the city's radio officer. ``Each ham radio operator has their own equipment, and if the person is alive, our radios will work. They are trained for emergency communications in the event of a large incident.''

judy.orourke(at)dailynews.com

[phone]