New early warning siren system installed at Baker River Dam
The new system increases the sound coverage area with eight new sirens

BELLEVUE, Wash. (6/29/2018) Puget Sound Energy is upgrading its early-warning siren system for the Baker River Hydroelectric Project.

Puget Sound Energy is upgrading its early-warning siren system for the Baker River Hydroelectric Project.

The new system will provide a distinctly unique siren tone and verbal messages to avoid confusion with other sirens used by emergency response personnel in the area. The upgraded system moves from the current three siren system to eight new sirens which will help increase the sound coverage.

In the unlikely event of a dam breach, the siren system will provide early warning and immediate mass notification to the town of Concrete and the surrounding communities of Van Horn, Grasmere, Cape Horn, and Birdsview.

PSE will commission the new system by conducting sound testing of the current sirens and upgraded sirens during the week of July 16 - 20 between 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The new siren tone and verbal messages are available to download at pse.com/bakerriver.


What you can expect during testing:

  • Sound testing of the sirens will involve periodic sounding of the current three-siren system and each of the new eight sirens. During the sound testing, the sirens will produce a tone and two verbal messages. This is a scheduled test and only a test of the siren system. If the sirens sound during this timeframe, residents are not called to evacuate.

  • The sirens to be tested are located in and around the town of Concrete, including Van Horn, Grassmere, Cape Horn, and Birdsview. Locations of the sirens are provided on a map that is available online at pse.com/bakerriver or at PSE’s Visitor Center at Lower Baker Office in Concrete, WA.

Once the new siren system is fully commissioned the current system will be removed. PSE will follow the current testing schedule and test the new sirens on the second Monday of the month at 6pm. If the sirens sound at any other time, without prior notice to the local media, it is not a test. Residents are to evacuate and head for higher ground, in the north and south direction, away from the Skagit River.