Officials encourage residents to sign up for BCAlert

While storm sirens are no longer part of Bella Vista's landscape, officials say there are still plenty of ways to warn residents about imminent severe weather.

"It's all about planning. Have an idea in place of what to do when you know there's a chance for severe weather," said Fire Chief Steve Sims.

The city is most at risk for severe weather from April through May, Sims said, and residents can stay abreast of the storms by signing up for BCAlert.

BCAlert is a free notification system that law enforcement and emergency medical services can use to inform citizens about news, weather and community events across several analog and digital communication devices. Residents can sign up online at www.bcalert.com.

However, land-line users do not have to register for BCAlert to get phone calls about tornado warnings, said Police Chief Ken Farmer. Those alerts emanate from a partnership between Benton County and the National Weather Service. All numbers in the county's 911 database are downloaded and land-line users will receive a phone call regardless, Farmer said.

Although Bella Vista's hills and valleys provide great protection against severe storms, Sims said it's still important to have a plan of action in case a tornado strikes.

"Due to the topography of the region, storms usually slow down when approaching," Sims said. "But a severe thunderstorm can produce a tornado at any time, not just when there's a (tornado) warning issued."

If residents are home when a tornado strikes, Sims recommends staying away from windows. Find a room or hallway near the center of the house, where the residence is most likely to be structurally sound, Sims said. Covering up with blankets and mattresses is a good idea, too, he added.

Prepping for storms if you're a mobile home owner is somewhat problematic, though.

Sims recommends strapping down the trailer, essentially anchoring it to the ground, in case a tornado strikes.

"That's more of a last resort," he said. "(Mobile-home owners) should plan to be somewhere else if (they) know tornadoes or severe thunderstorms are approaching."

If possible, building a personal storm shelter is the best way to go for everyone, Sims said. The Fire Department can check with the Building Division to see which homes have shelters, and firefighters will inspect each shelter for survivors after the storm passes.

For residents unfortunate enough to get caught out on the road during a tornado, Sims says seek a low-lying area immediately.

"Get out of the car and try and find a ditch and cover up," he said.

Arkansas averages about 21 tornadoes per year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The state made national headlines last spring when a category 4 tornado ripped through Vilonia and Mayflower, killing 16 and injuring nearly 200 more, per reports of the event.

A category 2 tornado also damaged Vilonia in April 2011. That twister was part of the 2011 super outbreak, when 355 confirmed tornadoes touched down in 21 states. The storms killed over 300 people and caused roughly $11 billion in damages.

Mayflower and Vilonia are small towns in Faulkner County, which is near the center of the state. That region of Arkansas rests inside Dixie Alley, a nickname given to an area of the Southeast that is prone to tornadoes. Dixie Alley spans most of Arkansas' eastern half, nearly all of Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Georgia, as well as western Tennessee.

In its 100-year history, Bella Vista appears to have had only one documented tornado. That was in March 1954, when a twister cut a path through a farm near what is now Kingsland Road and Euston Drive, according to Xyta Lucas, a docent at the Bella Vista Historical Museum.

The tornado caused about $100,000 in damages across the county and hospitalized three people, Lucas wrote in a column published last year in the Weekly Vista. A storm cellar from the farm survives today, Lucas said. It can be seen down in the ravine alongside Kingsland Rd., next to the east entrance of Dinton Circle.

However, an article in the Nov. 22, 1988 issue of the Weekly Vista describes a "strong wind" on Nov. 15 that damaged roofs, overturned one RV and uprooted trees in the Chelsea and Wentworth area. Although a severer thunderstorm warning and tornado watch were in effect at the time, the National Weather Service did not see a tornado on radar, according to the article.

But a lack of tornadic activity wasn't the primary reason behind removing the city's storm sirens. In 2001, the Property Owners Association removed the sirens because of liability concerns, according to archived newspaper reports.

Although still a village at that time, Bella Vista's population was soaring. And because of the region's unique topography, POA officials were worried that the sirens wouldn't alert everyone.

The POA did a study and found that because of Bella Vista's jagged terrain, several sirens -- and at a hefty fee -- were necessary to be effective, said Tommy Bailey, POA General Manager.

"If you have something that people depend on, and (the sirens) didn't cover the entire village, then you're liable," Bailey said. "That's why from our standpoint, and I think the city did a study too (after incorporation) that to really get coverage, the call system was the best way to go."

When the issue was brought up in 2006 at a POA board meeting, Bailey said he favored a new storm siren system if funding was available.

But Henry Thompson, then the village fire chief, offered some resistance.

"The terrain presents real problems here in Bella Vista," Thompson said. "Those systems, even the new ones, are mainly designed to alert people who may be outside during a storm. Those people would probably be able to tell something was going on anyway. It's just common sense. People who are indoors often wouldn't be able to hear the sirens anyway."

Sims, who was a lieutenant in 2006, echoes Thompson's sentiment now.

"We had storm sirens at Lambeth Drive, London Drive, the Yacht Club, Fire Station No. 3, (the Avondale subdivision) and on Trafalgar Road," Sims said. "Their effectiveness was questionable."

Not only did the sirens' wail fail to infuse the village, the towers had wonky reception.

"We'd be out there doing a test, asking Station No. 1 (where tests were administered from) if the siren was on, and they'd tell us they'd been pushing the button," Sims said.

Plus, as Battalion Chief Jim Johnson remembers, some residents didn't even know what the sirens actually were warning against.

"When we tested them," Johnson said. "We'd get people calling us instead. They'd ask, 'why are you running the sirens?'"