Some Los Angeles County residents received a wireless emergency evacuation alert Friday, but county officials confirmed it was a “erroneous” message.
In a social media post, LA County officials said they were aware of the reports and apologized for the disruption.
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“We are working with FEMA to investigate the matter, and for the most current status of evacuation orders and warnings, please view the map of evacuations on Alertla.org,” officials wrote.
At a news conference Friday morning, Kevin McGowan, director of the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management, discussed the error and said there is a level of frustration and fear surrounding the alerts being sent to residents.
“First of all, I want to clarify that this is not human-driven. There is currently no one at a desk initiating emergency alerts. I would like to reiterate that at this time, while these alerts are being issued, they are not being activated or initiated. by one person,” McGowan said.
He added that it is important for residents to save their warning notices. He said people shouldn’t turn them off.
The city of Beverly Hills sent a message to its residents saying some may have received an evacuation warning from the Los Angeles County Fire Department around 4 a.m. But to be clear, there were no evacuations in the area. The city of Torrance has also responded to the warnings some residents have received.
“The emergency notification from the Los Angeles County Fire Department this morning regarding the evacuation warning has no effect on the City of Torrance. It was for Kenneth Fire only. There is no evacuation order in Torrance at this time,” the City of Torrance said. .
On Thursday, residents of Los Angeles County received a similar emergency evacuation warning which the province said was only for residents affected by the Kenneth Fire.
When asked by reporters Friday why the problem appears to persist, McGowan said his office is working with state and federal partners to determine where the error occurs when an alert starts and when it goes out. He said there is a common phenomenon called ‘bleed over’ where a mobile phone located in an area other than the intended zone receives the message from a cell tower.
Kathryn Barger, chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, said her office is not taking the issue lightly and is committed to getting to the bottom of the matter.
Officials are urging Los Angeles County residents to monitor the Alertla.org website for the latest information on evacuations.
