Los Angeles wildfire emergency alert errors addressed in Congressional report

After Los Angeles County put out faulty emergency alerts during January's massive wildfires, members of Congress are asking for more oversight and funding for the emergency alert system.

U.S. Congressman Robert Garcia released a May 12 report, "Lessons from the Kenneth Fire False Alerts."  The report was initiated by 13 members of Congress representing LA County, who wanted answers about the erroneous evacuation warnings.

On Jan. 9, a wireless emergency evacuation alert was sent to millions of residents across Los Angeles County and outside of the county.  However, it was meant for people in the order and warning zones of the Kenneth Fire in Woodland Hills. Many residents outside of the Kenneth Fire zone continued to receive the incorrect evacuation warning throughout the night and the following day.

"An evacuation order for residents near the Kenneth Fire currently burning in West Hills was mistakenly issued to nearly 10 million County residents along with some residents of neighboring counties," Kevin McGowan, Director of the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management said earlier. "This warning was intended only for residents of Calabasas and Agoura Hills and those within the West Hills community of Los Angeles."

For the Kenneth Fire warning, the mistake came about due to a failure within Genasys Inc.'s alerting software, which is used throughout Los Angeles County. The report noted that Genasys has since added safeguards to correct the issue.

The report's recommendations included improved federal funding for the planning, equipment, training, exercises, operations, and maintenance of Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) Systems.

Another significant finding within the report was that Los Angeles County should improve the wording of alert messages, ensuring they provide specifics about evacuation warning areas and timestamps.

"Los Angeles County may have avoided damage to people outside the impacted Kenneth Fire area had their message included more information on the location or the timing of the danger," according to the report.

"This additional information is also important for people who have older phones, where geotargeting is not precise on those devices. A more precise description of the affected area could have been accomplished with language such as, `An EVACUATION WARNING has been issued for Calabasas/Agoura Hills,' instead of `An EVACUATION WARNING has been issued for your area."'

The report concluded: "Congress and federal agencies must act now to close identified gaps in alerting system performance, certification, and public communication. The lessons from the Kenneth Fire should not only inform reforms, but serve as a catalyst to modernize the nation's alerting infrastructure before the next disaster strikes."

The Eaton Fire evacuation order delays were not part of this report. An independent after-action review by an independent group, as ordered by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is underway.