Investigation underway after millions receive erroneous evacuation alerts during LA wildfires

Leticia Juarez Image
Tuesday, February 4, 2025 7:26AM
Investigation underway after erroneous evacuation alerts during fires
A new investigation is underway into emergency alerts that were sent by mistake to millions of southern Californians as the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires were burning.

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A new investigation is underway into emergency alerts that were sent by mistake to millions of southern Californians as the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires were burning.

Emergency evacuation alerts can save lives. As the devastating wildfires ripped through the Pacific Palisades and Altadena areas last month, millions of people relied on emergency evacuation alerts to get out safely in a timely manner.

But during the crisis, an emergency alert mistakenly went out to residents unaffected by the fires, causing panic and confusion.

U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia was among those who received the erroneous message, which urged people to prepare to evacuate.

Though the alert was corrected 20 minutes later, additional messages continued into the next day.

"This was a state emergency where there was a clear failure in our system to get the public the information they needed," Garcia said.

Garcia, who represents Long Beach, has launched an investigation into the county's emergency alert system. He and 13 other congressional representatives from Los Angeles County sent a letter to FEMA, the Federal Communications Commission, and the software company responsible for the alerts demanding an explanation.

At the time, Kevin McGowan, director of LA County's Office of Emergency Management, apologized for the false alarms.

"This is not human-driven. There is no one sitting at a desk right now initiating emergency alerts," McGowan said.

Garcia said that lack of human oversight is part of the problem.

"We have somehow an automated system that is sending out alerts without any human control to be able to stop that or to fix that issue as it is happening is really concerning," he said.

Beyond fixing technical errors, Garcia worries the public could lose trust in the alert system - potentially ignoring warnings when a real disaster strikes.

"We're prone not just to fires, but earthquakes and other serious natural emergencies," he said. "So, we need to make sure that we're prepared for whatever the next big emergency is and that people have trust in the system."

LA County officials say they are also reviewing the incident.

Garcia has set an April 1 deadline for agencies to respond.

Copyright © 2025 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.