The Olivehurst Public Utility District’s emergency warning siren, shown here, will undergo a scheduled test on Jan. 6, 2026. The siren is designed to alert residents during natural disasters and will supplement other emergency notification systems used throughout the Olivehurst and Plumas Lake areas. Photo courtesy from the Olivehurst Public Utility District

OLIVEHURST, CA (MPG) - The Olivehurst Public Utility District has a warning siren that it will be testing on Jan. 6, 2026, at noon that will last between one to three minutes. The purpose of this siren is to be used in the event of a natural disaster to indicate an evacuation warning and will be used in cooperation and conjunction with other emergency agencies in the area.

This warning siren is used to augment other means of warnings to include NOAA All Hazards Weather Radio, law enforcement text notification network, social media, Yuba County Code Red and other broadcast media. Testing will typically take place once per quarter of the year on the first Tuesday in the months of March, June, September and December at noon. However, Dec. 2025 will not have a test as the testing will be in Jan. 2026.

The main natural disaster threats to the Olivehurst and Plumas lake areas are flooding from the Feather and Yuba Rivers. However, there are other kinds of natural disasters that can plague our areas like earthquakes, fires and other unforeseen weather.

During the previous natural disaster events that impacted the Olivehurst and Plumas Lake areas, the most recent being in 2017 during the ‘Oroville Dam Crisis,’ Yuba County residents experienced a disruption in cellular phone services as there was an overload to the networks.

To aid residents in notification of an impending natural disaster that will affect them, Olivehurst Public Utility District, with the support of Yuba County Office of Emergency Services and the Yuba County Sheriff’s Department, has implemented the utilization of a warning siren.

This siren will be activated when authorized by local emergency authorities and in coordination with the Olivehurst Public Utility District Fire Chief indicating that the public should immediately refer to local broadcast media (radio, television, etc.), law enforcement and/or social media for further information and direction.

Review the OPUD Warning Siren Policy for further details at opud.org.