City officials say they are moving into the next phase of testing for Bandera’s outdoor warning siren system after a successful initial run last week.
The July 10 test lasted less than a minute, but officials say it provided valuable information about sound coverage and system performance. The siren is mounted on the city’s historic water tower behind the O.S.T. restaurant.
“Today, we successfully conducted a test of our outdoor warning sirens,” the city said in a public statement issued after the test. “While the test was largely successful, we’ve received some reports from residents within the city limits who did not hear the sirens.”
City officials said the test marked the beginning of an ongoing effort to ensure the siren system can be heard by everyone in Bandera.
“This will involve targeted testing in specific areas reported to have low audibility, using specialized equipment to map out sound coverage, and exploring potential improvements,” the statement said. “That could include evaluating additional siren locations, adjusting siren power, or exploring supplementary warning methods.” gathered through these efforts will be used to create a more effective emergency alert system for severe weather and other urgent situations.
Meanwhile, the Lakeshore Volunteer Fire Department also announced it will be reactivating its own siren, originally used to summon volunteers before the days of radios and pagers.
“We are going to put it back into operation as a siren for weather warnings,” said Chief Eric Fraser in a Facebook post. “So, in the future if you hear the siren it will be for a flood warning, tornado warning or any other kind of warning that our community needs to know about.”
Fraser encouraged residents to monitor local news and media when they hear the siren. “This is a tool to help keep our community safe in times of impending danger,” he said.
The city said it will continue to provide updates as testing progresses and welcomes public feedback as part of the process.
.png)
