As wildfire season looms, Laguna Beach officials are taking steps to bolster emergency responses and provide more emergency centers for residents in case of a fire or other disaster like landslides. 

Officials are establishing temporary community resource centers during public safety power shutoff events and a backup communications system for emergency responders in an effort to improve emergency contingencies and support impacted residents. 

Southern California Edison (SCE) has an agreement with the city to use the Laguna Beach Community and Recreational Center and Susi Q Center as temporary community resource centers during public safety power shutoffs. 

The city is also installing a backup dispatch system at the Laguna Beach Community and Recreational Center Emergency Operations Center to maintain communications during emergency operations if the primary system fails or has disruptions. 

Laguna Beach Fire Chief Niko King said having redundancy in emergency operations is best practice for a city like Laguna Beach so a critical system doesn’t completely fail. 

“It’s something that a city should have and especially a city like Laguna Beach with all of the hazards that we face, and the activity that we see with the threat of wildfires, the possibility of earthquakes, any flooding or landslides,” King said during a phone interview. 

The agreement between the city and Southern California Edison is a five-year term, starting in June 2026 to June 2031. 

According to the staff report, Southern California Edison periodically shuts off the power in areas with high risk of wildfire during severe weather conditions. 

The facilities would provide impacted residents a place to go with amenities such as restrooms, internet access, along with heating and air conditioning. 

“[Impacted residents] can charge their phones and stay informed,” King said. 

Southern California Edison would also be able to provide customer support, signage, equipment staging and security.

The agreement also allows Southern California Edison to use community crew vehicles at the facilities. Community crew vehicles are mobile support units to give similar services that a community resource center would to communities, according to their website. 

According to Southern California Edison’s website, the electric company has community resource center agreements with facilities in Foothill Ranch, Fullerton, Garden Grove and Irvine. 

Southern California Edison would compensate the city $1,500 per day for each activated  temporary community resource center for up to five consecutive days. They are able to use the city facilities between 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and must notify the city 24 hours in advance – along with a sign off from city officials. 

According to the staff report, the Laguna Beach Police Department and city leaders identified the need for a backup communications system after the Rancho Fire last year as the city lacked a fully capable secondary dispatch location. 

The backup communications system will support police, fire, marine safety and public works operations during emergencies when the primary system experiences disruptions, according to the staff report. 

According to King, the system supports the city’s new emergency operations center and continuity of operations. 

In February, the city council approved plans to remodel two classrooms at the community and recreational center into an emergency operations center and install an emergency generator. 

The center is expected to be completed by July 2026, according to the staff report. 

King said the space at city hall where emergency operations took place originally was just too crowded.

“Any emergency operations center has to have enough seats in functional areas for people to sit and run the city, and help make decisions,” King said. 

The community recreational center was chosen because it is in a fire-safe area with sufficient parking, according to King.  

King said having the dispatch system and the emergency operations center at the same place is beneficial for conducting operations. 

“We can get updates on the emergency, understand where resources are, [and] be in direct contact with the dispatch center while city staff is managing the rest of the city and the operations,” King said. 

The total cost of the project including the radio system and the antenna system to support radio transmission and reception is $132,423.72. 

According to the staff report, it is fully funded through the Wildfire Mitigation/Fire Safety Police Support Services account. 

According to King, the dispatch system will be operational in August or early September. The project was delayed due to the Laguna Beach City Council postponing the approval to purchase another piece of equipment until their next meeting. 

“Our goal is to have all of this up and running with the backup generator, and the partnership with SCE by this fire season,” King said.