LA County sends evacuation order by mistake, causing panic, confusion among enraged residents: ‘It was irresponsible’
An evacuation order issued across Los Angeles County sent residents battling the historic wildfires into panic — until they realized minutes later the alert was sent by mistake.
Phone alarms sounded Thursday night when a message came through urging residents to “gather loved ones, pets, and supplies” and evacuate their homes.
“An EVACUATION WARNING has been issued in your area,” the text alert read.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn admitted on X that the alert was a mistake — sending already frustrated residents into a fury over the frightening blunder.
“I have been informed the evacuation warning that many of us just receiving on our phones was mistakenly issued countywide due to a technical error,” she wrote.
“A correction will be issued shortly.”
Hahn said the alert was meant for the areas impacted by the Kenneth Fire in Woodland Hills.
A correction alert was issued minutes later: “Disregard last EVACUATION WARNING. It was for Kenneth Fire Only.”
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The faux pas continued to fuel the flames of critics who have already called for California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass to resign over their response to the vicious wildfires.
“The fake alert really threw me off. I was on the phone with my family, who was checking on me when it went off on my phone. I immediately jumped up and started packing my things even though I live Downtown,” LA resident Thomas Jenkins told The Post.
“I didn’t stop until I heard the news anchors saying they mistakenly got the alert, too, and that it was a mistake. It was irresponsible, annoying and caused panic for nothing.”
“Nice work la county for sending out an INCORRECT evacuation alert for the entire county and freaking out many people,” one user posted to X.
“My poor upstairs neighbor was frantic to get out of here because of it and left in a panic.”
“What a complete and utter failure, all of you,” another user posted to X.
“Imagine getting this text after going through what they have in the last 24-48 hours.”
Another resident who asked to remain anonymous took a different approach.
“I think everyone has been on high alert for the last 48-72 hours,” they told The Post. “More good has been done with the evacuations than harm. I think everyone needs a little grace at this moment. We’re all doing our best!”
Many have accused Bass of being derelict in her duty to Los Angeles ahead of the fires that erupted while she was thousands of miles away on a trip to Ghana to celebrate the African nation’s presidential inauguration.
She was also slammed for slashing LA’s firefighting budget by tens of millions.
Since she returned to her burning city on Wednesday, Bass has remained evasive with reporters and even told those affected by the devastating fires to go to “URL,” as she read from a script during a press conference.
Page Six reporter Bernie Zilio, who lives in the City of Angels with her husband, baby and dog, called the false alert “beyond negligent.”
“To unnecessarily panic an entire county that has already been on edge for two days is beyond negligent. I am livid,” Zilio said.
“I immediately started packing our bags, which have been by the door for two days, as my husband continued to watch the news. The anchors’ phones went off at the same time ours did, and everyone lives in different places, so their first instinct was to question whether the alert was legitimate.”
Zilio said she realized the alert was a mistake when it was confirmed on the news, with the cancellation alert arriving minutes later.
“Do they know the mayhem that is going to ensue? The traffic? How many people won’t trust the actual alerts that come through now? My heart is still racing,” she said.
Fires sparked Tuesday morning, and days later have ravaged nearly 30,000 acres (47 square miles) in Los Angeles County, causing mass destruction and evacuations.
At least seven people are dead, with the death toll expected to climb.
Additional reporting by Whitney Vasquez
