County officials apologized Friday after residents across the Los Angeles area continued to receive erroneous emergency alerts that urged them to prep

Faulty evacuation alerts woke Angelenos in a panic. What’s wrong with L.A.’s emergency system?

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2025-01-11 11:00:02

County officials apologized Friday after residents across the Los Angeles area continued to receive erroneous emergency alerts that urged them to prepare to evacuate, even though many were not close to any of the fires sweeping across the foothills of the sprawling metropolis.

Residents were awoken in the middle of the night Friday by the now-familiar buzz and chime: “An EVACUATION WARNING has been issued in your area.” Panic ensued as many were left to make a quick decision — was it time to grab their bags and leave?

For some who lived as far as 20 miles from any active fire, the alert was clearly wrong. But to residents closer to active evacuation zones — many of whom were already on edge after fires have damaged or destroyed more than 12,000 structures — the alerts stoked confusion and panic.

“I can’t express enough how sorry I am for this experience,” Kevin McGowan, the director of the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management, said at a Friday morning news conference.