The wireless emergency evacuation alert that some Los Angeles County households received on Friday was deemed “erroneous” by county officials.
Officials from LA County apologized for the interruption and acknowledged receiving the comments in a social media post.
“We are working with FEMA to investigate the issue, and for the most current status of evacuation orders and warnings please review the map of evacuations on Alertla.org,” officials stated.
Kevin McGowan, the director of the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management, addressed the error during a press conference on Friday morning. He stated that citizens are feeling a certain amount of dread and frustration due to the alerts that are being issued to them.
“I want to be clear right away that this is not human-driven. At this moment, no one is seated at a desk setting off emergency alarms. I want to reiterate that at the moment, no one is activating or initiating these alerts as they are being sent out,” McGowan stated.
Residents should continue to get alert notifications, he added. People shouldn’t disable them, he said.
Residents of Beverly Hills were notified by the city that the Los Angeles County Fire Department may have sent out an evacuation alert to some of them at around four in the morning. However, it was made clear that the area was not affected by any evacuations. The alerts that some of its residents received were likewise addressed by the city of Torrance.
“The City of Torrance is unaffected by the evacuation alert that was issued by the Los Angeles County Fire Department this morning. It was just for Kenneth Fire. The city of Torrance stated that there is currently no evacuation order in effect.
Residents of Los Angeles County were issued a similar emergency evacuation advisory on Thursday, which the county claimed was exclusive to those impacted by the Kenneth Fire.
Reporters questioned why the problem appears to be ongoing on Friday. According to McGowan, his office is collaborating with federal and state partners to determine the location of the error that occurs between the time an alert is initiated and when it is sent out. According to him, a regular occurrence is “bleed over,” in which a cellular tower sends a message to a cellphone located outside of the specified zone.
Kathryn Barger, the chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, stated that her office is dedicated to finding the truth and is not treating the matter lightly.
Authorities advise citizens in Los Angeles County to keep an eye on the Alertla.org website for the most recent evacuation updates.