LA rushed emergency alerts, costing lives in wildfires

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A recent investigation suggests Los Angeles County may have implemented a new emergency alert system hastily before the devastating wildfires, potentially contributing to the tragic loss of lives in West Altadena.

Genasys, a company specializing in emergency alert software, marketed their innovative system to various California counties, promoting enhanced capabilities for issuing evacuation notices during natural disasters like wildfires. While several counties, including Riverside, Inyo, and Monterey, conducted thorough testing over nearly a year, Los Angeles County allegedly compressed their testing period to just three weeks, implementing the system approximately one month before the fires that ravaged Pacific Palisades, Altadena, parts of Malibu, and North Pasadena.

L.A. County rushed testing of its Genasys emergency alert system, says @latimes, possibly leading to major failures in Altadena.

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The system’s flaws became apparent when erroneous evacuation alerts were sent across L.A. County on January 9th, causing unnecessary panic. These technical issues persisted into the following day, with alerts reaching residents far from any danger zones. The company later acknowledged these problems were related to version two of their software.

Critically, west Altadena, where all 17 Eaton fire casualties occurred, experienced significant delays in receiving evacuation warnings. Records show that a single official from the county’s Office of Emergency Management handled alerts for all three fires – Palisades, Eaton, and Hurst – during the crucial period between 7 p.m. on January 7 and 7 a.m. on January 8. This official had no prior experience using the Genasys alert system in emergency situations.

Multiple investigations are now underway at both federal and county levels to determine whether the delayed evacuation orders resulted from software malfunctions, timing issues, or inadequate training on the new system. The county’s emergency office defended their position, stating that Genasys had assured them of built-in software safeguards.

“We can’t choose the timing of the emergencies that strike LA County, but we can and do work continuously to make sure we are using the most up-to-date technologies available,” said the emergency office.

🔥 🚨 Hidden camera footage of two LA City employees, in water dept & Mayor’s office, confirms what we already knew:

1. @MayorOfLA @MayorOfLA knew major fires are inevitable

2. They were poorly prepared when fires did occur.

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— Houman David Hemmati, MD, PhD (@houmanhemmati) February 20, 2025

Genasys CEO Richard Danforth defended the system’s performance, stating “the loss of life statistics remain dramatically below any other major fire event that didn’t have the evacuation capabilities provided by Genasys Protect.”

“Last month’s devastating fires in Los Angeles captured local, national, and even international attention. The scale and scope of the numerous fires fueled by near hurricane force winds threatened multiple dense population centers surrounding the media capital of the world. The LA County Office of Emergency Management (OEM), with the support of both fire and law enforcement first responders, utilized Genasys Protect to affect the timely evacuations of hundreds of thousands of residents across multiple cities,” he said.

“Though the tragic structural and financial damage was record breaking, the loss of life statistics remain dramatically below any other major fire event that didn’t have the evacuation capabilities provided by Genasys Protect. Throughout the incident, Genasys experienced an unprecedented level of inbound inquiry for both our software and hardware solutions that we expect to convert into new bookings over the next several months,” he added.