Bring Back San Francisco's Tuesday “Noon Sirens” Outdoor Public Warning Siren (OPWS) System
Board.of.Supervisors@sfgov.org
As of February 21, 2026 it has already been 2,266 calendar days — 6 years, 2 months, 12 days — since San Francisco’s Tuesday “noon sirens” were shut off following their last day of service on December 10, 2019. We have no hope of then being turned back on by December 9, 2026 — which will mark seven full years they’ve been silent.
San Franciscans were told in December 2019 the sirens would be brought back in service within two years. The disaster warning sirens remain silent going on seven years because there’s still no funding source in sight.
A City Hall press release on August 24, 2023 reported that then-Mayor Breed had joined then-Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin to announce plans to prioritize upgrading the City’s Outdoor Public Warning System (OPWS) during an August 2023 Mayor’s Disaster Council meeting. Peskin was quoted as saying: “I am delighted that we were able to collaborate and find funds to finally get the Warning System back up and running.” What happened to those funds Breed and Peskin identified nearly three years ago?
District 4 Supervisor Wong has introduced a Resolution to the Board of Supervisors in File # #260142 to restore the Outdoor Public Warning Siren (OPWS) system — our Tuesday “noon sirens.” Wong’s Resolution rightly notes that on December 5, 2024 the 7.0 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Humboldt County triggered a tsunami warning for San Francisco, during which the City lacked a functional outdoor warning system to supplement cell phone alerts, requiring first responders to physically drive to Ocean Beach with loudspeakers to warn residents.
Wong also noted PG&E’s December 20, 2025 power outage demonstrated the vulnerability of relying solely on cell phone-based emergency alerts through AlertSF, as residents’ phones lost battery power and their ability to receive emergency notifications, or contact 9–1–1.
On December 5, 2024 San Francisco’s Department of Emergency Management (DEM) provided an Excel file list that showed AlertSF had just 48,192 subscribers — just 5.96% of San Franciscans — not the 195,000 subscribers DEM claims AlertSF has. By analyzing the Zip Codes and City names, only 36,152 of the 48,192 live in San Francisco — reducing AlertSF subscribers to just 4.5% of San Franciscans (36,152 of 809,000).
Tell the Board of Supervisors they must do better by prioritizing funding to restore the siren system rapidly. Before we face a major earthquake, a tsunami, or a massive wildfire. San Francisco can — and must — do better. For our City. For our safety. For future generations.
Please share this petition widely with your friends, family and associates, and ask them to sign this petition!
Petition by
To:
Board.of.Supervisors@sfgov.org
From:
[Your Name]
Please support the “Emergency Preparedness Restoration of Outdoor Public Warning System” resolution in Board File #260142 introduced by District 4 Supervisor Alan Wong.
Supervisor Wong’s legislation seeks to prioritize restoring San Francisco’s Outdoor Public Warning Siren (OPWS) system as part of the City’s emergency preparedness efforts. The Tuesday “noon sirens” done for decades were shut off on December 10, 2019. Despite funding reportedly identified in 2023 to restore the system, the siren system remains silent.
On December 5, 2024 San Francisco’s Department of Emergency Management (DEM) provided an Excel file list that showed AlertSF had just 48,192 subscribers — just 5.96% of San Franciscans — not the 195,000 subscribers DEM claims AlertSF has. By analyzing the Zip Codes and City names, only 36,152 of the 48,192 live in San Francisco — reducing AlertSF subscribers to just 4.5% of San Franciscans (36,152 of 809,000).
The siren system must be declared an urgent matter for the City, and funding be identified and dedicated rapidly to bring the sirens back on-line, as Priority Number 1 for the City. They should not have been offline for going on seven years already!
It’s way past time the Department of Emergency Management (DEM) stop “studying” this problem and move on to taking real action! And the Capital Planning Committee must be told to rapidly identify funding sources for the noon sirens in the upcoming Fiscal Year 2026–2027 City budget.
After all, even if restoring all of the City’s 119 sirens into service were to cost $20 million, that represents just 0.1257% — just over one-tenth of one percent — of the $15.9 billion annual City budget, This is a ridiculously small percentage of spending to help all San Franciscans be more adequately alerted in the event of any number of public disasters. It’s the least the City should be doing, and can surely afford!
Please, rapidly sign on as a co-sponsor of Supervisor Wong’s proposed resolution, and pass this Resolution unanimously. Then, get to work to identify funding in the City’s upcoming budget for Fiscal Year 2026–2027 being developed now to rapidly repair the noon warning sirens and bring them back on-line by the end of calendar year 2026!