L.A. County’s evacuation alert system broke down during fires. It’s part of a larger problem
When the federal government in 2012 launched Wireless Emergency Alerts — a new system that allowed officials to send loud, screeching alarms to cellphones across a large area — many local emergency management officers were wary of the technology.
In 2017, as the Tubbs fire engulfed Northern California’s wine country, officials in Sonoma and Napa counties decided against sending such mass wireless alerts, worrying that they would cause county-wide gridlock and panic. Instead, they relied on an older system that sent messages to a smaller number of landlines and cellphone numbers voluntarily submitted by residents. Ultimately, 22 people perished.
A year later, when the Camp fire swept through the town of Paradise, officials did not use Wireless Emergency Alerts technology, opting for a system that sent out evacuation orders to less than a third of residents. Eighty-five people died, prompting a litany of investigations, reports and calls for statewide reform.
Today, jurisdictions across the state have adopted the up-to-date wireless alert technology. The federal system has also become more sophisticated, allowing operators to issue more precise, targeted warnings. But even with technological advances, problems remain.
