Alert System Delayed Again

The launch of a warning system that would telephone San Bernardino County residents when wildfires, flash floods or other disasters are threatening is more than a month behind schedule and could be delayed at least another week, according to officials.

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors agreed in January to spend $170,000 on the project in hopes that it would be in place by mid-February to alert mountain residents of flash floods caused by spring storms. To accelerate the launch, the board decided against seeking competitive bids.

Once the system is in place, residents will receive a recorded message tailored to the emergency, alerting them to evacuate or prepare to do so. But the project, known as a “reverse 911” system, has been delayed because the county has not received the phone numbers of those served by Verizon Communications, county officials said. The county has, however, made arrangements to pay for phone numbers from SBC Communications, the other major telecommunications firm in the area.

A spokesman for Verizon said it had not provided the numbers because a fee agreement had not been made. Once the county and Verizon agree on a price, the company will sell it the information. “That procedure is complex, and it might take a while,” said Jon Davies, a spokesman for Verizon. But he said Verizon hoped to have the agreement and phone numbers in the hands of county officials by next week.

Meteorologists say April typically signals the end of Southern California’s rainy season. But Rick Britt, the county’s communication’s director, said he was worried that another disaster, such as a wildfire, could strike before the warning system was in place.

“We can’t have another catastrophic event here,” he said.