Tsunami test warnings blared out in North Olympic Peninsula coastal areas Monday just as they’re supposed to do in tests every other month.
But instead of the expected gentle chimes and short “this is a test” message, the prerecorded voice on all-hazard alert public-address systems in Clallam and Jefferson counties shouted information about a volcano and possible hazardous materials.
“The message is supposed to ring Westminster chimes,” said Undersheriff Ron Peregrin, who is Clallam County emergency manager. “Different tones came out.
“It sounded like the movie ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind.’
“It kind of got everybody spun up to figure out what went wrong.”
State investigation
The state Emergency Management Division is investigating the cause of Monday’s faulty bimonthly test of the all-hazards alert warning system in Clallam, Jefferson, Pacific and Grays Harbor counties.
To avoid further confusion after the bogus messages at noon Monday, emergency managers opted out of transmitting a corrected message.
“I spoke with officials from the state Emergency Management Division who told me they had originally planned to quickly do a second message to refute the error,” said Bob Hamlin, program manager for the Jefferson County Department of Emergency Management.
“But [they] decided it would only confuse people more and subsequently opted not to do it.”
Computer glitch
Peregrin said the error was likely caused by a computer glitch in new software.
He said a similar error occurred recently in Orting, where sirens are positioned to warn of mudflows downstream from Mount Rainier, which is a dormant volcano.
“Technology is what it is,” Peregrin said. “Sometimes it does its own thing, and that’s what it did today.”
Although he couldn’t confirm that all of Clallam County’s tsunami warning systems broadcast the erroneous noon message, Peregrin suspected that to be the case since they’re all connected to the state Emergency Management Division.
“A contractor was on scene for the test and will recheck all of the system’s operations and programming,” said John Schelling, division earthquake program manager.
“The system has operated without error for the past year. Backup procedures remain in place to operate this system while corrections are made.”
50 siren installations
The all-hazards alert system includes 50 sirens that are tested the first Monday of alternate months along the Pacific coast and Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Clallam County has active tsunami sirens at LaPush, Neah Bay, Lower Elwha, Port Angeles, Sequim and Diamond Point.
Jefferson County has sirens in Port Townsend and Port Hadlock.
Hamlin said Monday’s bogus message was “unexpected by everyone” and resulted in several phone calls to 9-1-1, Port Townsend City Hall, the Department of Emergency Management and others.
Some callers said the voice message blasted from the system towers referred to several different hazards.
This was an unfortunate error and could result in lack of confidence in the system, a statement from Jefferson County said.
Peregrin, who was in meetings with Clallam County emergency management staff for most of the day Monday, said he was not aware of calls from worried residents.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
