The Los Angeles County Fire Department sent another erroneous emergency alert early morning Friday after a mistaken alert was also sent Thursday afternoon with both messages stoking resident fears amidst various raging wildfires.
Officials addressed the erroneous messaging sent out by the county’s alert system during a Friday morning news conference. Kevin McGowan, director of the county’s Office of Emergency Services said the messages were not being administered by a person.
“We have every technological specialist working to resolve this issue and to find the root cause,” McGowan said. “I implore everyone to not disable the messages on your phone. This is extremely frustrating, painful and scary, but these tools have saved lives during emergencies. Not receiving an alert can be a consequence of life and death.”
In a , the department said it is aware of the mistaken alerts and is working with FEMA to investigate. The department also apologized and asked that people use AlertLA.org to see the latest warnings.
On Thursday, just before 4 p.m., people across the county received cell phone alerts ordering them to evacuate, even in areas unaffected by the ongoing fires.
“It was an error,” LACFD spokesperson Kaitlyn Aldana said.
The alert caused many residents, already tense from the ongoing fires raging across the county, to fear their homes were now in danger, too.
Fifteen minutes after Thursday’s mistaken alert, another alert was sent out by the the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management asking residents to disregard the previous alert, as it was only intended for the , which erupted near West Hills bordering Los Angeles and Ventura counties earlier in the afternoon.
