Accidental Siren Warning Blamed On Software Glitch

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA — A siren activation Friday that frightened Huntington Beach residents was blamed on a software glitch that has now been corrected, police said Thursday.

The city's emergency siren system went off about 4 a.m. Friday, scaring residents that a disaster was happening.

The mistake was blamed on an error in setting the siren system's clock on Greenwich Mean Time, so its regularly scheduled monthly testing happened at 4 a.m. instead of at the usual time of noon, police said.

The time zone mistake happened during a software upgrade. City officials have been trained now on how to use the new software and tested it Thursday morning, police said.

Police took the opportunity in reporting the source of the accidental siren activation to remind residents what would happen in an actual emergency. Residents should expect multiple warnings through radio, TV and KWVE 107.9 FM, which is the county's primary station to broadcast emergency system messages.

Residents were also encouraged to sign up for notifications from the county's system, AlertOC, at www.alertoc.org. Sirens would wail at the city's eight fire stations, as well and residents would also find out information through social media platforms.

• ALSO SEE: 2 Hurt As SUV Runs Red Light, Crashes Into UC Irvine Bus: Police

--City News Service