by Karen Lee Scott
Staff Writer

Unknown vandals have been damaging emergency warning sirens and signs in remote areas since they were first put up in the early 1990s.

But more recently their ruinous actions have increased in frequency and in the amount of damage done.

“I can’t understand why someone would want to damage something that can protect them,” said Dan Hauptfleisch, alert and notifications systems technician for the Tooele County Emergency Management Team (TCEM).

The warning systems were installed to warn people of chemical incidents at Deseret Chemical Depot, but they are also used for hazardous material spills, natural disasters and for any other reason Tooele County emergency officials deem necessary.

Hauptfleisch, whose main job responsibility is to maintain the 60 emergency warning sirens across
Tooele County and throughout parts of Salt Lake and Utah counties, said when the daily temperature started to rise this year, he noticed an increase in the amount of destruction taking place.

He pointed out that most of the sirens and message boards being damaged were in more out-of-the-way areas, such as Five Mile Pass and Rush Valley. He said monthly repairs are costing about $3,000, sometimes as much as $5,000.

Although the warning systems are funded through the U.S. Army’s Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP), it is taxpayers who are footing the bill because the program is federally funded.

Wade Mathews, TCEM public information officer, said bullets hitting the panels and signs are the most common causes of the vandalism. He said once a solar panel has been shot, even once, the entire panel has to be replaced. This is because the batteries, which are attached to the warning devices, are charged solely by the solar panels and when the panels are damaged they can’t keep the battery fully charged.

Hauptfleisch said once a battery loses it charge below 10 volts, it can’t ever be recharged and it too must be replaced.

Hauptfleisch said replacement panels can cost anywhere from $400 to $900 and that sometimes it can take three days to get new panels replaced. Batteries are less expensive, but having to replace a lot of them can be costly he added.

The TCEM is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the vandals.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office at 882-5600.

e-mail: kscott@tooeletranscript.com