Things are back to normal today at Alcatraz Island after a malfunctioning fire alarm caused the evacuation of more than 1,000 tourists from the island Sunday afternoon, a National Park Service spokeswoman said.
Tours of the former prison started again at 9 a.m. today. The site is operated by the park service, spokeswoman Alexandra Picavet said.
About 1,100 people were on the island when a fire alarm went off at about 1:30 p.m.
Sunday. There was no fire but the faulty alarm, located in an elevator shaft, “was malfunctioning to the point that we could not reset it,” Picavet said.
Since a working fire alarm is required to allow visitors to the island, the tourists had their trips cut short and had to leave, she said.
All other trips later that afternoon were also canceled, said Tegan Firth, spokeswoman for Alcatraz Cruises.
Everyone who had their trips cut short or canceled received refunds, Firth said.
Dan McMenamin, Bay City News
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