Emergency Communications

Success in saving lives and property is dependent upon timely dissemination of warning and emergency information to citizens in threatened areas. With the potential threat of earthquakes, wildfires, storms, and hazardous materials spills, it is important for residents to know how the City of Santa Clarita and the Los Angeles County Operational Area would notify the community before, during, or after an emergency.

It is essential that information be provided timely. Listed are the various ways emergency information- alerts and warnings, may be disseminated in Santa Clarita:

1. Emergency Notification System
   The City of Santa Clarita, has a regional notification system that is able to send telephone notifications to residents and businesses within Santa Clarita impacted by, or in danger of being impacted by, an emergency or disaster.
   This system will be used by emergency response personnel to notify those homes and businesses at potential risk with information on the event and/or actions (such as evacuation that the City and local Public Safety Officials are asking them to take. The system utilizes the regions 911 database, provided by the local telephone companies, and thus is able to contact land-line telephones whether listed or unlisted. It is TTY/TDD capable. If the call is picked up by an answering machine, the system will leave a voice message. If the telephone called is busy or des not answer, the system will redial that number up to three times in an attempt to deliver the message.
   Because the system uses the 911 database, only land-line numbers are currently maintained in the City's regional notification system. If you currently subscribe to an Internet Phone Service (Voice over IP (VoIP), such as Vonage) or use your cellular phone in lieu of maintaining a traditional home telephone and wish to be contacted by the City's regional notification system, you must register these additional telephone numbers with the City. Additional if you would like to be contacted electronically in the event of a potential emergency, you can register to receive an email notification via this system. Click here to register
2. City Website
   Recent emergency information may also be accessed via www.santa-clarita.com. Find this information under the heading of Community, then Emergency Management, Alerts & Warnings.
3. Radio
   Listen to KNX 1070 AM and KFWB 980 AM radio stations for regional emergency alert information for the Los Angeles County area. Also tune into KHTS 1220 AM for local Santa Clarita emergency information.
4. EAS (Emergency Alert System)
   Emergency information is broadcast directly via the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department frequency. For emergency events and conditions of concern a broadcast message is disseminated to the public via radio and television stations. The message is a voice message only, with text test messages scrolling on the television on the screen.
5. Cable Television
   The City has an agreement with Comcast Cable and Time Warner Cable to provide the public with alerting and notification of various disaster situations, via EAS. The City's cable channel 20 will also provide directions to the community via scrolled information, and also through live delivery. (Channel 20 is not available with Direct TV providers)
6. Amateur Radio
   The City of Santa Clarita is linked via amateur radio to the local Los Angeles County Disaster Communication Service (DCS). The Santa Clarita Emergency Communications Team is the local chapter of DCS and is registered to as a civil defense organization under the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES). The team's primary purpose is to supply emergency communications for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the City of Santa Clarita. Members are volunteer amateur radio operators that supply their talent and equipment in times of crisis. Current groups linked to the Santa Clarita Emergency Communications "Vital Link:" include the Newhall School District, Saugus School District, the Valencia Industrial Association, Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, Los Angeles County Firs Stations, and the Santa Clarita Sheriff's Station.
7. Other warning notification systems used in the City of Santa Clarita include:
   • Mobile emergency vehicles sirens and loud speakers
   • Helicopters using public address systems
   • Door to door notification by Sheriff's deputies, reserve deputies, explorers, Neighborhood Watch Block Captains, and City personnel

Santa Clarita Emergency Communications Team

Los Angeles County Disaster Communications Service