CVAG calls for improvement in Coachella Valley 911 system

PALM DESERT Calif (KESQ) - The Coachella Valley Association of Government Public Safety Committee is calling for legislative fixes and policies that will improve the desert's 911 systems.

CVAG staff say that since Tropical Storm Hillary hit in August of 2023, there have been at least 5 cases where local 911 systems experienced widespread outages that made it possible to call the emergency hotline or require the rerouting of emergency calls. Outages sometimes also impacted non-emergency lines.

News Channel 3 has been reporting on all of those outages for over a year, in some cases stemming from storm damage, and more recently, attributed to cable theft and vandalism.

The Committee plans to meet for a second time on this topic, inviting key stakeholders such as Riverside County officials and possibly service providers and California Office of Emergency Services for a full discussion on what is being done and further steps to address the 911 outages.