How To Reach Law Enforcement When Emergency Service Lines Are Down

In the past 48 hours, there have been two public safety alerts regarding 911 outages in the area.

While this can be frightening to many, local emergency services say there are other ways to get in contact with them, if this happens again.

The two recent outages have reached East Riverside County, in surrounding areas from Cabazon all the way to Blythe.

Having dealt with similar issues in the past, police departments in the Coachella Valley have alternative numbers to call in the case of an emergency.

“Communications continued even though there was a challenge. This is just a reminder that those that have telephone hard lines at home, obviously their cell phones and any other communications, you need to be prepared the same way public safety is.” Benjamin Guitron, the Public Information Officer for the Indio Police Department says.

Guitron adds, “We’re working with the other valley public agencies, fire, police, ambulances, the sheriff’s office, and they seem to be doing okay at this time as well. It’s just a reminder about how things could happen with weather, weather issues, damages, earthquakes, we all need to be mindful that things like this could happen.”

Officials say it’s crucial for residents to be prepared as issues like this arise. 

As of now, the emergency service line is back up and working.

Law enforcement still stresses the importance of paying attention to emergency management and preparedness, as every city has a structured plan. 

To reach the Indio Police Department, neighbors can call 760-391-4051, or for the Palm Springs Police Department, 760-250-6268 is the suggested number to call.