Important findings on the causes of false wildfire evacuation warnings that were mistakenly sent to millions of Los Angeles County residents during the January fire and storm were part of a legislative report released Monday.
The alert intended for residents affected by the Kenneth Fire Force in the San Fernando Valley community in West Hills was sent to nearly 10 million county residents, causing concern and confusion. Rep. Robert Garcia, one of the lawmakers who requested the report, said the alert was a “wake-up call” on a critical issue of public trust.
“The Kenneth Fars Alert was a wake-up call,” Garcia said in a statement Monday. “We have shown the consequences of software failures, ambiguous message language and lack of federal standards. We need to modernize emergency alert systems to ensure that warnings are accurate, timely and targeted. Public trust is at risk.”
According to the report, to prevent future errors, alert errors that sent mobile notifications with sound to those not in the evacuation area were caused by software failures sent to those not in the evacuation area, but require additional funding and monitoring of the wireless alert system.
The report also suggested that Los Angeles County should improve the language of its alert messages to provide specific details about evacuation warning areas and timestamps.
The false warning message was sent on the afternoon of January 9th, two days after the onset of the Palisade fire in Pallisade in the Pacific, the Eton fire in Altadena and several small fires driven by the powerful Santa Ana winds. Several evacuation warnings and orders were issued during the miserable times in Southern California as wind-covered fires threaten the community.
The criminal charges were filed on three counts of fire relief fraud, federal prosecutors announced in LA on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, that LA County officials say they are waiting for the results of external reports before taking responsibility — someone who could not send an evacuation warning when the Eaton fire burned the neighborhood, and a woman from Altadena Council. I’ll rebuild it. —- Investigative reporter Eric Leonard takes a closer look at key issues that follow the critical narratives affecting Southern California following the devastating Los Angeles wildfires. Send us news tips about Palisade Fire and Eton Fire. http://4.nbcla.com/gath7pd
Kevin McGowan, director of the Emergency Management Agency, said the false message was the result of a computer problem and the authorities immediately began working to resolve it. However, the second false message intended for the Kenneth Fire District was sent again the following day.
The first false reports were sent to millions as accurate “evacuation area polygons” were not uploaded to the federal public warning and warning system. According to the report, Genasys Inc., which oversees alerts, did not notify the county that the polygon was missing, so the alerts were sent across the county rather than the targeted area.
The report noted that Genasys added protective measures to fix the issue. The report also noted that county officials responded quickly and sent an amendment message within 20 minutes. But it also suggested that the county would improve the language of the warning message and make it clearer.
“Los Angeles County may have avoided damage to people outside the affected Kenneth Fire Area. “This additional information is also important for those with older phones, where geotargeting is not accurate on these devices.”
The report includes examples of more accurate descriptions of affected areas, such as “A Calabasas/Agra Hills Evacuation Warning has been issued” rather than “an evacuation warning has been issued in your area.”
The report called for increased funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s wireless alert technology and supervision of third-party companies involved in the issue of enhanced requirements and alerts.
They were also asked to include the map in wireless alerts.
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