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Placer County backs weather-radio alerts to reach Lake Tahoe visitors and residents in low‑coverage areas
Summary
Sheriff's office briefed the board on a plan to augment Everbridge with National Weather Service radio transmissions using Ward Peak and other towers to reach visitors and residents in the Lake Tahoe Basin; staff recommended phase‑one installation and cited an approximate $100,000 initial cost and $400/month maintenance.
Placer County supervisors heard a briefing May 12 on a proposal to expand emergency notification channels by integrating National Weather Service (NWS) radio broadcasts with the county's Everbridge system.
Sheriff Wayne Wu and Lieutenant Jason Welsh said the initiative aims to reach people in low-cellular-coverage terrain — especially visitors in short‑term rentals — by transmitting evacuation and life‑safety messages over FM/weather-band repeaters installed on county and partner towers. Welsh said the system is meant to augment, not replace, existing systems: "It's not replacing Everbridge. It's to augment it with NWS radio-based towers," he said.
Officials proposed a phased rollout starting with equipment at the county-owned Ward Peak tower. Welsh estimated initial equipment costs near $100,000 and monthly site maintenance around $400; the radio units would be integrated with Everbridge so dispatchers can trigger the additional channel from the same interface.
Board members and members of the public applauded the redundancy, saying weather radios are a low-tech but reliable backup when cellular networks fail during storms or wildfires. Supervisors also asked about maintenance and battery backups; staff said Placer County Radio Services will maintain tower equipment, including periodic battery checks and backup power systems.
The board supported approving phase one to install equipment at Ward Peak and directed staff to proceed with implementation planning and training for dispatchers and first responders.
