It’s another hard day here in Los Angeles. And yesterday, at 3:57pm, we received an emergency alert stating: “NEW: This is an emergency message from the Los Angeles County Fire Department. An EVACUATION WARNING has been issued in your area. Remain vigilant of any threats and be ready to evacuate. Gather loved ones, pets, and supplies. Continue to monitor local weather, news, and the webpage alertla.org for more information.”
My heart sank because I thought we were out of the woods (literally). After texting friends, family and posting to my neighborhood Facebook group, I came to the conclusion that the message was sent in error. Indeed it was; the city sent out an apology 20 minutes later. I was reminded of the massive error that occurred in Hawaii in 2018, when there were serious tensions with North Korea and the local government erroneously sent a message warning: “BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.”
But back to L.A. At 3:57am I received the same emergency alert again. No, not the way you want to wake up. But this time, I cross referenced the Watch Duty app (a friend who is a firefighter had recommended it to me a few hours earlier) and saw that there were no nearby fires, so I didn’t wake my wife or kids.
This morning, I read this in our local paper: “Many Los Angeles County residents were startled out of bed early Friday morning by an evacuation-warning alert sent to their phones. The alert, which county officials confirmed was sent in error, was the second such mistakenly sent alert within 12 hours. County officials on Friday said the messages sent in error were somehow “not human driven,” suggesting they were sent automatically.”
Kevin McGowan, the LA County office of emergency management director apologized and said at a morning news conference: “First of all, I want to clarify — this is not human driven. There is no one sitting at a desk right now initiating emergency alerts. I want to restate that right now as these alerts are being issued, they are not being activated or initiated by a person.”
I’m thankful it was a false alarm but what a way to build distrust. I’m not disabling my government alerts but I’ve turned the sound off so now my phone vibrates instead of emitting a soul-destroying screech.
I’m also thankful for Watch Duty which is a “service, not an app, powered by over 150 volunteers – firefighters, dispatchers, and first responders – who diligently monitor radio scanners and other official sources 24 hours a day to send you the most up-to-date information.”
Watch Duty watches over 14 mostly western states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
Here’s how it works, in their words:
If you ever do have to evacuate your home, here’s some good advice a friend shared on Facebook: “A lady on the news today said you must only worry about the P’s: people, pictures, pets and papers.” Here’s how to protect your passports, photos, important documents and other valuables from fire.
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