Los Angeles wildfires: Officials don’t know why false evacuation warnings were sent to millions

As wildfires rage through the Los Angeles region this week, LA County’s 10 million residents are sitting close to their phones, ready for text alerts from officials about whether to pack their belongings and leave their homes immediately.

On Thursday afternoon, millions of residents of the LA area received an evacuation warning that did not specify the immediate location or fire, despite at least three large fires burning in the region. It reads as follows:

“Emergency Alert. UPDATE: This is an emergency message from the Los Angeles County Fire Department,” the notice read. “An EVACUATION WARNING has been issued for your area. Stay alert for any threats and be ready to get out. Collect loved ones, pets, and resources. Continue to monitor local weather, news, and the alertla.org webpage for more information.”

The warning extended from Long Beach to south to north of downtown LA and almost every point in between, covering dozens of square miles. The problem? It was a mistake.

The Tweet may have been deleted

Santa Monica, a coastal LA County city already enduring evacuation orders and warnings due to the proximity of the Palisades inferno, fired off a tweet in response to the emergency warning and told residents nothing had changed as of Thursday afternoon.

The Tweet may have been deleted

At 4:20 p.m. Thursday afternoon, a new alert was sent out across the county, telling residents that the previous evacuation alert was sent in error. The message added that it was intended to apply only to those affected by the Kenneth Fire northwest of Los Angeles, but the message did not include details about that wildfire or its location. Another issue is that emergency alerts are not stored on most smartphones, which means they are very difficult to find and reread.

Also included in Thursday afternoon’s snafu was another evacuation warning issued Friday morning for LA residents miles away from the wildfires, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Kevin McGowan, director of the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management, apologized in a statement Los Angeles Timessaying, “I can’t express enough that I’m sorry.” McGowan said the emergency alerts were automatic and no one person or group of people sent them, adding that he did not know the cause of the errors. County IT staff and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials are investigating the matter, McGowan said, urging local residents not to turn off alerts due to technical issues.

Updated information about fires can be found at alertla.org, as well as the free Watch Duty app.