An evacuation warning that was sent to cellphones across Los Angeles County on Thursday afternoon was sent in error, the county said.
The message, which informed untold residents — including those nowhere near the fires — that “a new evacuation warning has been issued in your area” caused confusion about whether a new fire, or fires, had broken out in a region already on edge after days of raging fires, choking smoke and widespread destruction.
The alert blared on cellphones across Los Angeles County, including in Culver City, Long Beach and Santa Monica, which all have their own city governments.
In a statement, Los Angeles County said that the alert had been meant just for residents of Calabasas and Agoura Hills, near the Kenneth fire. That blaze, the latest to erupt in the Los Angeles area, began burning in West Hills on Thursday afternoon.
It was not immediately clear how many people received the alert. About 9.6 million people live in the county.
A second alert, issued about 20 minutes later, told residents to “disregard the last evacuation warning.”
Janice Hahn, a Los Angeles County supervisor, said on social media that the alert was sent out mistakenly because of a technical error.
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