DA 19-1095
Released:  October 26, 2019

PUBLIC SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY BUREAU EXTENDS THE DISASTER INFORMATION REPORTING SYSTEM IN RESPONSE TO CALIFORNIA PUBLIC SAFETY POWER SHUTOFFS

	
          On October 23, 2019, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) activated the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) to receive information on the status of communications equipment in connection with the California Public Safety Power Shutoffs.  At the request of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Commission extends its information collection to additional counties in response to the California Public Safety Power Shutoffs. 

          DIRS is a voluntary, web-based system that communications providers, including wireless, wireline, broadcast, cable, and Voice over Internet Protocol providers, can use to report communications infrastructure status and situational awareness information during times of crisis.  In DIRS, the event has the following name: CA PUBLIC SAFETY POWER SHUTOFF.

	The Commission requests that communications providers that provide service to any areas listed below expeditiously submit and update information through DIRS regarding, inter alia, the status of their communications equipment, restoration efforts, and power (i.e., whether they are using commercial power or back-up power).  Communications providers can accomplish this by accessing DIRS at https://www.fcc.gov/nors/disaster/.  Providers that have not previously done so will be asked to first provide contact information and obtain a User ID when they access DIRS.  There is a link on the login page that will allow them to obtain the User ID and password.  If a user does not remember his/her password, he/she should use the forgotten password link on the login page.  If any user has any problems accessing DIRS, please contact any of the numbers listed below.  

Communications providers are reminded that for providers that participate in DIRS, the separate Network Outage Reporting System (NORS) obligations are suspended for the duration of the DIRS activation with respect to outages in the counties where DIRS has been activated.  Reports are requested at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, October 27, 2019, and every day after that by 10:00 a.m. until DIRS is deactivated. 

Communications providers that serve an area listed below and that have already provided contact information in DIRS will be sent an e-mail requesting that they provide the above-referenced status information through DIRS.  For any communications providers that have not already logged onto DIRS to input their contact information, the Commission encourages them to do so as soon as possible.

COUNTIES OF INTEREST FOR THIS ACTIVATION INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:

CALIFORNIA: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Kern, Lake, Los Angeles, Marin, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Solano, Sonoma, Tehama, Tuolumne, Ventura, Yolo, and Yuba.


For further information, please contact:
 
FCC 24/7 Operations Center (202) 418-1122, email:  FCCOperationCenter@fcc.gov
John Healy (215) 847-8094, email: john.healy@fcc.gov
Julia Tu (202) 418-0731, (202) 321-4399 (cell), email: julia.tu@fcc.gov
Michael Caiafa (202) 418-1311, (202) 277-5690 (cell), email: michael.caiafa@fcc.gov
David Ahn (571) 232-8487 (cell), (202) 418-0853, email: david.ahn@fcc.gov




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