We began hearing about it since shortly after the January 7 outbreak of the Santa Ana wind-powered fires that incinerated the hills of Pacific Palisades and the neighborhoods of Altadena and Pasadena. Complaints of false evacuation and other emergency notices left people confused and angry. A local weather reporter got an erroneous cell phone evacuation notice live on the air as he reported about the issue.
On January 10, during a news conference, L.A. County officials announced they'd lost control over the system. Right after it was announced on live TV, another fake evacuation alarm notice went out.
LA County Emergency Management admits they don’t have full control over their alert system.
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) January 10, 2025
As he says this, a false alert goes off. pic.twitter.com/xsjX5FM2jp
The false reports caused real-life inconvenience, chaos, and worse.
Parts of the city of Altadena were evacuated ten hours before another part was told to get out, according to the L.A. Times. Residents who were told to wait for the evacuation notice woke up in the wee hours of January 8 only to realize that they were in the middle of hell. No one told them to leave. A man confined to a wheelchair who lived with his disabled son never made it out. A 95-year0old grandmother, well known in the neighborhood, was found under the burned rubble of her home.
The county reports 28 people so far are reported dead in the Southern California firestorm. Seventeen people died in Altadena, a multiethnic neighborhood, many of them black and Hispanic residents.
Know when it’s safe to go home! Look up your zone at https://t.co/mJtRhbTtyC and download the Genasys Protect app today.#PalisadesFire #LAStrong pic.twitter.com/wusTktqH4C
— UnifiedLA (@UnifiedLA) January 20, 2025
Is the collapse of the mass alert program another governmental crisis of competence laid bare by this catastrophic firestorm? Let's look a few data points.
The mass alert system was new to Los Angeles. The San Diego-based Genasys ALERT system won the contract in November 2024 to provide emergency warnings to the entire county and its 88 cities.
Know when it’s safe to go home! Look up your zone at https://t.co/mJtRhbTtyC and download the Genasys Protect app today.#PalisadesFire #LAStrong pic.twitter.com/wusTktqH4C
— UnifiedLA (@UnifiedLA) January 20, 2025
The objective of the system is to "keep people safe with geo-targeted emergency warnings and multi-channel, multi-language mass notification. ALERT channels include mobile push, IPAWS, text messaging, emails, voice calls, social networks, XML feeds, CAP, indoor/outdoor speaker systems, and the Genasys Protect Citizen app," the company reported in a news release announcing the four-year-long contract.
The 40-year-old company "covers more than 70 million people in over 100 countries worldwide, including more than 550 U.S. cities."
Because of the confusion in L.A., Genasys is urging people to download its app to get real-time, location-specific information, if they haven't downloaded it already.
IMPORTANT! https://t.co/c0ZM1XJgfF 🚨
— Genasys Inc (@GenasysInc) January 10, 2025
California’s first responders are working tirelessly during the LA fires to protect lives and communities. Tools like the Genasys Protect app empower residents to track evacuation zones and stay updated. Visit https://t.co/ylrDxng4P5 to…
CNN reported that local officials were having trouble working the system within hours of the fires breaking out.
The debacles started January 9, shortly after the Kenneth Fire broke out in the western part of the San Fernando Valley. Around 4 p.m., officials tried to send an evacuation warning to cell phones in just the areas of nearby Calabasas and Agoura Hills.
“The first technical glitch is that it went out county-wide, instead of to the affected area,” said Bryan La Sota, emergency management coordinator for Los Angeles County’s Office of Emergency Management. So millions of people incorrectly received this urgent message on their cell phones: “NEW: This is an emergency message from the Los Angeles County Fire Department. An EVACUATION WARNING has been issued for your area. Remain vigilant of any threats and be ready to evacuate. Gather loved ones, pets, and supplies. Continue to monitor local news, weather, and the webpage alertla.org for more information.”
The lives of millions of people could be put in danger by the mistake of one county employee.
The L.A Times reported that each mistake is amplified under the alert system.
“The new technologies are super powerful, but small mistakes can lead to big errors,” said Thomas Cova, University of Utah in Salt Lake City geography professor, who specializes in environmental hazards and emergency management. “The decision making, it often comes down to one individual.”
“There is no perfect number to send, no perfect geography to send it out to,” Galperin said. “It requires, ultimately, human judgment.”
Former L.A. Controller Ron Galperin told the Times, "There is no perfect number to send, no perfect geography to send it out to. It requires, ultimately, human judgment.”
“Obviously," he said, "the notification systems need some work.”
Maybe the employees need more training also.
In the meantime, the California Office of Emergency Services took over the system on January 10 and remains in charge today.
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