Marion County ESDA Coordinator Sheri Barter says all of the tornado warning sirens in the county as well as Centralia and Salem will be tested and where possible repaired this week. As a result, some of the sirens may be sounded during the testing process.
Barter says Braniff has been contracted to do the work. She’s hopeful they can determine what needs to be done to bring some sirens that have not worked back into operation, including the Alma siren and the Marion County Fairground and East Salem water tower sirens. Barter says in some cases the problem isn’t with the siren operation itself, but the communication system that sets off the siren.
The work is being completed as a special Marion County committee studies severe weather warning systems in the county. The committee is already implementing an advanced Everbridge phone warning and notification system throughout the county but are still looking at the need for outdoor weather sirens. Many of the current sirens were installed following a tornado that hit the south side of Salem in the 1990s.
