'Can You Hear Me Now?' Murrieta Dead Zones Clear For Cops, Fire

MURRIETA, CA — Imagine being a police officer or fire crew calling for backup but having spotty radio service due to dead zones.

That was the case in pockets of Murrieta's west side, but a $1.6 million investment in a new radio tower changed it, according to Lt. Jeremy Durrant of the Murrieta Police Department.

The Public Safety Enterprise Communication Hollingsworth radio tower is now online. Located near Greer Ranch, the tower ensures first responders come in loud and clear in previous dead zones — like portions of Copper Canyon and Bear Creek, and even in the unincorporated community of La Cresta, according to Durrant.

"We can hear each other now," the lieutenant said.

The Murrieta Police Department joined the Public Safety Enterprise Communication system in 2015. The PSEC was commissioned by the county in 2007 and went live in 2014. It was built as a "countywide, highly redundant, open standard based radio system" aimed at ensuring first responders across the region could communicate with each other to increase efficiency and safety, according to the department.

Both the Riverside County Sheriff's Department and Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department utilize the PSEC system.

Murrieta PD was the first municipal police department in Southwest Riverside County to join the PSEC system, but as soon as the agency came online coverage issues were detected in the Copper Canyon/Bear Creek area, according to Durrant.

Fixes were attempted, but the region's unique topography — with its steep hills — was to blame. An additional tower was needed to improve communications, officials decided.

In 2018, the city set aside $800,000 for the project. Over the next two years, negotiations got underway with Motorola, Riverside County, and the Hollingsworth family — who owned property where the new tower now sits.

Cost-sharing agreements were reached between the city and county, memorandums of understanding were drafted, entitlements were set and contractors were selected.

The Hollingsworth PSEC tower was constructed in the fall of 2022 and power was supplied to the site in mid-November, according to Murrieta PD. The tower has a direct line of sight to the Elsinore Peak PSEC tower.

In January of 2023, the Murrieta Police Department completed testing on the new tower with PSEC engineers.

"First responder communications are [now] exceptional across the city," according to the department.

“Riverside County is 7,000 square miles and has a population of 2.5 million people," Murrieta Police Chief Tony Conrad said in a released statement. "Building and maintaining a robust communication system, with the topography challenges and the considerable investment required, is certainly a heavy lift for any government agency.

"Despite those challenges, I feel confident saying Riverside County first responders, both law and fire, have one of the best communication systems in the country," the chief continued. "The investment by the city of Murrieta and the county into the Hollingsworth site shows the exceptional partnership we have with our law and fire partner agencies, as well as our elected officials. The Hollingsworth tower ensures that our Murrieta residents will have public safety communication [with] 100% coverage into the future.”

Conrad has been an active member of the PSEC steering committee since 2015. He currently serves as committee chair.

While Murrieta is the main beneficiary of the new tower, the city and county split the project's cost. Copper Canyon, Bear Creek and La Cresta parallel vast open space, making these communities high wildfire-risk areas. When blazes rage, a multi-agency response is usually required and communication is key for everyone involved.

Murrieta Fire and Rescue recently signed agreements to join PSEC and will be one of the first Riverside County municipal fire agencies on the system.