As fires rage for a third day in a row across parts of Los Angeles, now including the Hollywood Hills, several neighborhoods have been forced to evacuate for safety. But on Thursday afternoon, a fire evacuation alert was mistakenly sent to the smartphone of every resident in Los Angeles County, a region of more than 9 million people.
“An evacuation order for residents near the Kenneth Fire currently burning in West Hills was erroneously issued countywide,” the official LA County account wrote in a post on X. “This alert was only intended for residents of Calabasas and Agoura Hills. “
Several Los Angeles residents posted on social media that they received the push notification right around 4pm PT, despite being in areas far from any active fires. The emergency alert interrupted a live broadcast on Fox LA, confusing the on-air meteorologist.
The smartphone push notification was issued countywide “due to a technical error,” according to LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn, noting in a post on X that a fix will be sent soon.
Smartphone manufacturers allow government officials to send emergency notifications to users based on their location, a feature that is especially important to Californians when wildfires occur. However, mistakes like this can cause unnecessary panic in an already stressful situation.
