According to residents in Carnation, the latest incident was the eighth false alarm since 2020.
CARNATION, Wash. — Seattle Public Utilities revealed the cause of the latest false alarm of the Tolt River Dam's emergency system Wednesday.
According to SPU, the unplanned siren on March 27 was accidentally triggered during remote work on the system. Residents thought they were preparing for a dam failure that would cause"catastrophic damage" to their community. The Tolt River Dam holds back nearly 58,000 acre-feet of water, which provides as much as 40% of the City of Seattle's drinking water.SPU owns the Tolt River Dam and says an employee of one of its vendors, Federal Signal,"failed to follow procedures by not turning off siren communications while performing the planned work."
SPU said it has increased daily inspections since the incident. It also said the King County Office of Emergency Management would automatically send a message to every cellphone in the impacted area if there is a dam emergency so people can be certain it is not a false alarm.after eight false alarms have been sounded in the past four years. According to the city, only one other incident has been explained, and that was also caused by human error.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Carnation evacuated by another false alarm from Tolt River DamPeople living in Carnation were once again startled by a false alarm from the Tolt River Dam.
Read more »
Carnation residents frustrated after another false alarm from Tolt River Dam emergency systemResidents claim this is the eighth false alarm in four years—a problem that first started in 2020.
Read more »
2 more false Tolt Dam breach alarms cause 'panic' in Carnation WednesdayThe city of Carnation experienced two more false dam breach alarms Wednesday, marking the eighth time a false evacuation alarm has sounded in four years.
Read more »
Carnation leaders say 'drain the dam,' threaten to sue Seattle after latest false alarmFollowing another false alarm, Carnation leaders are preparing to sue the city of Seattle and call on federal regulators to decommission the Tolt River Dam.
Read more »
Officials find missing student Riley Strain's bank card near riverThe parents of the 22-year-old, who has been missing since March 8, continue to ask for help from the public in locating their son.
Read more »
Missing CA hiker feared dead after being swept away in SoCal river, officials sayA traveling nurse was hiking with friends in the Angeles National Forest in Southern California when she tried to cross a river and was swept away, search crews say.
Read more »