Weather Event Advisory
The Ridgecrest Police Department and City of Ridgecrest are preparing for what appears to be a major weather event that is expected to enter our area Saturday night and last into Tuesday.
Hurricane Hilary is forming below Baja California and the current storm track has it potentially traveling near the Indian Wells Valley and Central California as a whole. While fully expected to downgrade from hurricane levels to a tropical storm, the amount of expected rainfall in addition to potential thunderstorm and wind events, have the potential to cause damaging and/or dangerous situations in our community. Currently, Monday is the day expected to have the most rainfall, but storm speed can accelerate or delay that forecast.
Local public safety officials are working with the Kern County Office of Emergency Services (Kern OES), the California Office of Emergency Services, and the National Weather Service (NWS) with daily briefings and planning meetings to help mitigate issues related to the pending storm. Updates will be given daily to keep the community informed and if needed, safety instructions given.
In the meantime, please go over your personal, family, and work safety plans. Ensure that items in your yard such as trampolines, sheds, toys, etc.. are secure to the ground or are safely removed from the area. Winds could be significant and unsecured items cause a huge safety risk for you and your neighbors.
At this point, this a general cautionary advisement based upon current storm risk assessments. The severity of these notifications will be updated as needed.
Captain Justin Dampier
Acting Chief of Police
Ridgecrest Police Department