Residents in Los Angeles County received a wireless emergency evacuation alert. Nonetheless, it was intended for those within the Woodland Hills Kenneth Fire order and warning zones.
“I have been informed the evacuation warning that many of us just received on our phones was mistakenly issued countywide due to a technical error,” Janice Hahn, the county supervisor, stated.
Emergency officials then emphasized in a message that it was exclusively for the Kenneth Fire.
“Nearly 10 million County residents and some residents of neighboring counties were mistakenly issued an evacuation order for residents near the Kenneth Fire currently burning in West Hills,” said Kevin McGowan, Director of the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management. “This warning was intended only for residents of Calabasas and Agoura Hills and those within the West Hills community of Los Angeles.”
Although officials stated they made every effort to keep the notice as brief as possible, certain factors, such the location of the phone’s registration, might have had an impact on the outreach.
“We understand that these wildfires have created great anxiety, hardship and distress among our residents, and we are committed to sharing accurate information,” McGowan stated. “For updates on wildfires currently burning in LA County, including evacuation information, please visitlacounty.gov/emergency.”
The fires are affecting an estimated 331,335 individuals, of whom 139,524 are under evacuation alerts and 191,811 are under evacuation orders. For comparison, SoFi Stadium can accommodate 331,335 people three times over.