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#CaliforniaWildfires #CPREmergencyAlerts #EvacuationOrderConfusion #LosAngelesWildfires #EmergencyAlertSystemFailure #WildfireEvacuation #GenasysIPAWS #EmergencyManagement #FalseEvacuationAlerts #WildfirePreparedness
Widespread Confusion as Emergency Alerts Misfire Across Los Angeles County
Newly released emails from Los Angeles County reveal the full scope of confusion and system errors that occurred during the massive Southern California wildfires in January 2025. Millions of residents received inaccurate or misdirected evacuation alerts, resulting in widespread panic and miscommunication at a time when clear information was critical.
What was originally believed to be a local evacuation warning for the Kenneth Fire in West Hills was mistakenly broadcast to nearly 10 million people, including some living outside Los Angeles County.
Internal Messages Reveal Confusion Among Emergency Management Officials
More than 200 pages of internal emails and text messages, made public through a records request, show that even officials managing the crisis were unsure who was sending alerts — or why certain messages were being broadcast to unintended recipients.
In one text exchange between county employees on January 10, a coordinator said, “We didn’t send anything out. Promise.” Another employee replied, “FEMA is going to need to look into this.”
Despite the Kenneth Fire only burning a little over 1,000 acres, the erroneous alerts led people across the county to believe their neighborhoods were under immediate threat. Meanwhile, the Eaton and Palisades fires, which collectively scorched over 37,000 acres, caused additional chaos and confusion due to inconsistent alert messaging.
System Error Triggers False Alerts – County Reaches Out to FCC
Facing repeated issues, the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) emailed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) three days into the crisis, describing an “unknown system error” affecting the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS).
The message stated that alerts were being broadcast “outside of the zone of people who should have received it” and that the system continued to send unsolicited alerts throughout the night.
The email concluded:
“We contacted FEMA’s IPAWS and our vendor to correct the problem… so far all efforts have been unsuccessful. Any assistance you can provide would be greatly appreciated.”
Genasys Software Identified as a Key Factor in Alert Failures
An investigation by U.S. Representative Robert Garcia later pointed to Genasys — the county’s third-party emergency alert vendor — as the source of the problem.
Genasys had struggled with multi-zone targeting within its system. A representative admitted via email on January 8 that there was an “underlying issue requiring further investigation.”
Emails between OEM representative Bennett Cummings and Genasys employees show multiple failed attempts to send alerts to the correct zones. Cummings noted they had to launch separate campaigns for each evacuation zone, despite attempting to issue one unified message.
Genasys Responds, Cites Life-Saving Benefits and New Safeguards
After the email revelations, Genasys issued a statement emphasizing that their alerting system still helped reduce evacuation times from up to an hour to just six minutes, likely saving lives in the process.
Since the incident, the company has implemented:
- Cross-channel validation
- Fail-safes
- New warnings to alert users before a countywide message is issued by mistake
According to Garcia’s investigation report, these improvements are designed to prevent a repeat of the January 9 mass false notification, which caused unnecessary alarm across Southern California.
Final Thoughts: Lessons from a Communications Breakdown
The 2025 California wildfires underscored the critical importance of precision in emergency communication. While systems like IPAWS and Genasys Protect are designed to save lives, errors in deployment can have the opposite effect — sowing confusion, wasting emergency resources, and potentially putting more people at risk.
With lessons learned and system upgrades in place, officials and vendors alike aim to prevent future communication breakdowns in the face of wildfire emergencies and other natural disasters.
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