California Renews Bid for WEA Earthquake Warning Test; Cities Also Seek Test, Cite Wildfires
California Governor's Office of Emergency Services renewed an FCC waiver request to test the wireless emergency alert system to transmit early earthquake warnings, after canceling a December test to focus on responding to wildfires (see 1811300008). The test is now…
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planned for Feb. 6, between 11 a.m. and noon PST, in Oakland, in partnership with the U.S. Geological survey, said a Cal OES letter posted Thursday in docket 15-91: The test will assess the feasibility of "transmitting a ShakeAlert through the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) WEA system to warn the public of imminent ground motion during an earthquake." If Feb. 6 isn't available, Feb. 13 at the same time would be a backup, the office said. Aliso Viejo and Laguna Beach, California, sought FCC waivers to allow commercial mobile service providers to participate in WEA tests on Feb. 6 at 3 p.m. PST. The tests are to ensure local officials understand how alerts will perform in their cities, which face natural hazards, including wildfires, said their requests (here and here).