Amid the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles, residents across the county—spanning Downtown LA, Culver City, Los Feliz, and West Hollywood—received an alarming emergency notification from the Los Angeles Fire Department, urging them to evacuate.
On-air reporters from KTLA were taken aback as they all received the alert simultaneously. One anchor remarked, “If they just accidentally sent an evacuation notice to the entire county, that’s a big oops.”
As people checked in with friends, coworkers, and loved ones throughout Southern California, many speculated that the widespread evacuation notice was likely a mistake.
County Supervisor Janice Hahn confirmed on X, “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. A correction will be issued shortly.”
A subsequent push notification clarified that the evacuation order was only for Woodland Hills and other areas threatened by the Kenneth Fire.
One recipient expressed their shock on X, stating they had “almost had a heart attack.”
On Bluesky, comedian Paul F. Tompkins criticized the emergency alert system for using the same alarming sound for the corrected notification: “Hey, not to tell you how to be a phone, but maybe when you’re retracting the emergency don’t still use the terrifying YOU ARE IN GRAVE DANGER klaxon; maybe use the ol’ sad trombone or something.”
The Daily Wonder account noted on X that this incident has caused considerable confusion and stress among residents, shedding light on issues regarding the emergency alert system’s accuracy and reliability.
KTLA Los Angeles reported that cell phones across ALL OF Los Angeles COUNTY, home to 9.6 million people, received a “mandatory evacuation message” that turned out to be an erroneous alert, calling it a disaster.
The initial evacuation notice urged individuals to “gather loved ones, pets, and supplies,” a precaution many had already taken for fires in the Pacific Palisades, Eaton Canyon, and Sunset Blvd/Hollywood Hills.
In actual emergency news, the rapidly spreading Kenneth Fire is currently estimated to have consumed 50 acres and continues to grow in the San Fernando Valley, near Hidden Hills, Woodland Hills, and West Hills. It is burning close to a trailhead at Victory Boulevard near the L.A.-Ventura County border, adjacent to the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve, according to AOL.
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