Garcia Launches Investigation Into Faulty Alerts Sent Across L.A. County

Rep. Robert Garcia announced on Monday Feb. 3, the launching of a full investigation into the Los Angeles County’s emergency alert system, following a series of faulty emergency alerts that urged millions of residents to prepare to evacuate the Palisades and Eaton fires.

On Jan. 7, Los Angeles County was hit with immense tragedy as a series of massive wildfires spread across the Pacific Palisades, Pasadena and Altadena. The Palisades and Eaton fires have been considered as one of the most devastating fires in the state of California.

And then, merely two days after the fires broke out, millions of residents across the county received a wireless emergency alert urging them to prepare to evacuate. A correction was issued approximately 20 minutes later, stating the alert was sent “in ERROR.”  Residents as far away as Long Beach — more than 35 miles from any active fire — even reported receiving pings on their phones.

County officials later said the alerts were meant to go out to a smaller group of residents in the Kenneth fire evacuation area, but were accidentally sent to the entire county due to a software glitch.

In response to the system errors that occurred, Garcia authored and sent several letters to the Los Angeles County, Genasys Inc. — the software company contracted with the county to issue wireless emergency alerts — the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Communications Commission, requesting details on the “precise failures” that led to the erroneous alerts.

Garcia also wrote that his intention was to determine whether “additional statutory requirements, guidance, or regulations” are needed to prevent future false alarms.

“In life-safety emergencies, appropriately timed, targeted and clear emergency alert messages can mean the difference between life and death,” Garcia wrote. “However, unclear messages sent to the wrong locations, multiple times and after the emergency has passed, can lead to alerting fatigue and erosion of public trust.”

The congressman also asked each recipient of the letters to explain their role in the alert system’s use, as well as an update on an internal investigation that began last month by L.A. County officials regarding the system error.

“Due to the incorrect warning, millions who were never under any wildfire danger were unnecessarily alarmed and confused, causing distress in a dangerous time of out-of-control wildfires,” Garcia wrote to Genasys, FEMA and the FCC. “This has serious implications for public safety and well-being at a time of intense distress for our community. Further, the incident raises a serious risk that future alerts could be ignored or downplayed by more recipients, placing lives at risk.”

After the incident regarding the errored emergency alerts, Kevin McGowan, director of L.A. County’s Office of Emergency Management, announced that the county would overhaul its emergency notification systems. The county stated it would also suspend its alert system operated by Genasys and switch to a separate system operated by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

According to their last updated reports on Feb. 3, Cal Fire states that both the Palisades and Eaton fires have both been 100% contained, with the cause of both fires still under investigation. Cal Fire also stated that the fires have left 16,244 homes and structures completely destroyed and 29 confirmed deaths.

For more information about the Palisades and Eaton Fires, you can visit https://www.fire.ca.gov.