House of Representative members from California want to know what led to accidental evacuation alerts that fomented confusion during devastating Los Angeles fires in January.
Accidental wildfire alerts prompt probe from Congress
Members of Congress from California are trying to figure out how to prevent another round of false alerts.
Members of Congress from California are trying to figure out how to prevent another round of false alerts.
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images
is a senior science reporter covering energy and the environment with more than a decade of experience. She is also the host of Hell or High Water: When Disaster Hits Home, a podcast from Vox Media and Audible Originals.
The Palisades and Eaton wildfires broke out in early January, killing at least 29 people and destroying more than 16,000 structures. In the midst of the chaos, some 10 million people received an erroneous emergency alert on January 9th telling them an evacuation warning was issued for their area. It was only supposed to go to people living in areas most at risk from another blaze, but was instead sent across Los Angeles County.
After the gaffe, the county said it was working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to investigate why “echoes” of the alert kept going out to residents’ phones, making it more difficult for people to rely on officials’ warnings.
“The difference between life and death”
“Appropriately timed, targeted, and clear emergency alert messages can mean the difference between life and death. 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 lawmakers say in letters sent to Los Angeles County, FEMA, the FCC, and software company Genasys.
Led by Representative Robert Garcia (D-CA), the legislators are considering whether more guidance or regulations are needed to keep the same problem from happening again during other emergencies. The letters include a series of questions about how the Los Angeles warning system operates and what’s changed since the January infernos. The recipients have been asked to provide their responses by April 1st.
The FCC didn’t immediately provide a response to an inquiry from The Verge. Genasys referred The Verge to Los Angeles County, whose Coordinated Joint Information Center said in an email that it would respond to the letter by April 1st and that a review is underway of evacuation and emergency notifications.
FEMA said in an email to The Verge that its initial review “points to” private wireless infrastructure resending canceled or expired alerts — perhaps after power interruptions in the impacted area. The agency says it’s working with the FCC, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and wireless service providers to resolve issues with repeating alerts.
Update, February 5th: This post has been updated with responses from recipients of the lawmakers’ letter.
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